Gold and silver were being used less by 1500. Bronze was used for reliefs, but in the 14th century Donatello used it to cast his greatest work, "David," in bronze. By the 1500s the sculptors developed their technique to give bronze castings a fine finish. The sculptors gilded some bronze works with silver or gold. Collecting small statues became popular, and reproduction statues made with stucco, marble dust and sand were inexpensive enough for a commoner to own. Terracotta, baked clay, was durable when glazed. Sculptors could texture and color it as they needed. Carrera marble was the most popular material for monumental sculpture.
During the 16th century, sculpture became a dominant art form. Painting and architecture progressed, but sculpture was predominant. Relief carvings became three-dimensional with a higher relief. The quest was for sculptors to show movement and grace. Subject matter was largely religious, but also strayed to pagan and mythological subjects. They looked back to classical Greek and Roman work for inspiration without copying it.
Donatello influenced Michelangelo's early work, and his second period was a study of the human form. Mannerism is the name of the style of Michelangelo's work late in his career. His desire for salvation motivated the style. Bodies became contorted, elongated, and full of feeling. The style is noticeable in the painters, El Greco and Tintoretto. Michelangelo's former student, the sculptor Bevenuto Cellini also sculpted in the mannerism style. Cellini's statue, "Narcissus", shows clear influence of mannerism.
The center for the Roman school of sculpture was Michelangelo Buonarroti. Donatello's work influenced him, and his sculpture celebrated the human figure, often nude, as in his "Battle of the Centaurs." Michelangelo's early sculpture imitated Classical Greek. He continued to display the human form with clothes naturally draping the body as in the "Pieta." His later works depended on form, expression and naturalness as in his Moses. Michelangelo set the standard for sculpture in the Roman School, and all 16th century sculpture.