How did Lorenzo Ghiberti influence Donatello’s early career?

Between 1404 and 1407, Donatello joined the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti, a prominent sculptor who had recently won the prestigious competition for the Baptistery doors in Florence. This apprenticeship significantly influenced Donatello’s early career in the following ways:1

• Stylistic Foundation: Donatello’s earliest known work, a marble statue of David, reflects an artistic debt to Ghiberti. At the time, Ghiberti was the leading Florentine exponent of the International Gothic style, characterized by graceful, softly curved lines, which influenced Donatello’s initial approach.1
• Technical Development: Ghiberti’s narrative relief panels for the Baptistery doors introduced a pictorial tendency in sculpture, where depth was suggested by placing rounded foreground figures against detailed settings. Donatello later built upon this foundation, eventually inventing his own innovative mode of shallow relief known as schiacciato.1
• Professional Environment: Ghiberti’s workshop was a major training ground for many early Renaissance artists. By working as an assistant under Ghiberti, Donatello gained exposure to the professional standards and technical mastery of a leading master of the era.21