David Essay

There have been many staues of David sculpted by famous artists like Donatello, Verrocchio, and Michelangelo. Bernini’s version of David and is about to begin his attack on Goliath, as he appears posing. The statue seems to be moving through space and the action suggests that the action of flinging the stone requires a lot of room around David. The statue forces the observer to look past the actual subject and focus more on the surroundings. He seems to have very muscular legs, and appears to be ready to turn and throw a stone from his sling. This is the most dramatic pose that Bernini could have picked and was chosen because it shows a sudden burst of energy and a moment of suspense as well. Bernini’s David is different from that of

The city of Florence has gone through many invaders, illnesses and many other deaths not related to the battlefield. They had survived it all they believed that they had God on their side and have always come out on top, much like the biblical story of David in battle against Goliath. This influenced Florence to take on David as their symbol and used it to portray the success of Florence. Many artists have created sculptures portraying works of David. It has been depicting it in so many different manners, that there is at least one surviving example from each major art periods. Although there are many we will only be focusing on two works of David. First is Donatello’s classically inspired youthful boy depiction of David, and the second is Bernini’s heroic warrior.

Michelangelo created a 17 foot statue, David (1504) that Bernini studied to make his own depiction of the scene. The most noticeable difference between the two is that Michelangelo’s sculpture is nude while Bernini’s is clothed to an extent. Bernini utilizes the contapposto technique in his story of David, a technique taken straight from Michelangelo. Bernini plays with the immediacy of the scene, something that he does frequently, by depicting the moment right before the climax hits, when David kills Goliath. The movement in the sculpture, the moment before the release of the rock from the sling engages with Michelangelo’s sculpture of David. Michelangelo decided to show David before he

Bernini's David represents the Baroque time shift in art. The shift towards the baroque art period seemed to have a change within the overall narrative of the sculptures. Prior to Bernini’s version of David there existed David’s sculpted by Donatello and Michelangelo. Donatello’s David was sculpted during the time of humanism, where a large influence came from the ancient Greco-Roman culture. The overall emotion of the sculpture is soft and youthful and creates the image of David after he had beaten Goliath. There really is no distinct emotion within David himself in this sculpture. In the high renaissance period Michelangelo sculpted his version of David. This sculpture began to form some energy which was seen in David’s tensed facial expression,

The character of David has been the inspiration for many works of art throughout history. The young David, armed with only a sling, defeated the gigantic warrior, Goliath, and became the hero of the human people. This story became very popular during the Italian Renaissance, the period of 14th-16th centuries. During the Italian Renaissance, Florence was under constant change and turmoil however David remained the people with faith for the people. Many other artists have expressed their own depictions of the young boy but two stand out among all. Donatello and Michelangelo both created masterpieces on the biblical subject although the approaches of each artist were completely different in some ways this caused unique reactions.

This is one of the most known pieces in the history of art. At over thirteen feet tall, this sculptor of David is made to look like he is prepared for the treacherous battle and staring down his opponent: Goliath. In the 14th Century, Donatello created his sculpture of David for the scene after the battle had occurred. Michelangelo, on the other hand, created his piece before the fight unfolds, and is able to capture the emotion on the face of David. Unlike Donatello’s depiction of David; Michelangelo creates his to look as a grown man, because of his very muscular appearance. He stands at the ready with his sling shot and stones in hand, ready to deliver the lethal blow to Goliath. This is a significant sculpture for the time because it is the first large scale nude made during the Renaissance. After the people of the city of Florence banished the Medici family; they adopted Michelangelo’s David as a symbol of the struggle they endured while under the Medici. The Medici symbolized by Goliath and the citizens symbolized by

Michelangelo and Donatello were the most respected and inspiring artists of their time. Michelangelo of the High Renaissance and Donatello of the Early Renaissance both hailed from Italy. Both tell the biblical story of David versus Goliath, as told in I Samuel 17:28-51, in their sculptures "David." David was a Shepherd boy who killed the giant Goliath with nothing but a slingshot in his hands. Michelangelo displays David before the battle while Donatello shows David after the battle with Goliath. Michelangelo and Donatello were two of four famous artists who have created a statue depicting their image of David; Bernini and Andrea del Verrocchio were the others,

With the mission to rekindle Greek and Roman classical culture that had been abandoned since the 5th century, patrons began to recruit artists from all over Europe to paint various types of art. As this act became more and more popular, the stigma around certain artistic subjects began to subside gradually and significantly until this was the new norm. This was not the only change in thinking, however. Approaches to nudity presented in art changed drastically as Greek and Roman ideals were revitalized. Unlike the Middle Ages, sculpting came back into fashion along with the study of anatomy. Greek sculptors had taken an interest to the male body since the 5th century BC, as did Renaissance artists. One iconic sculpture of the male body is David, crafted by the legendary Michelangelo himself. It portrays a young nude man getting ready for some sort of fight or battle, a rock in one hand and a slingshot in the other while in a relaxed pose. The intricate details are evident just by looking at an image of the sculpture, from the hair all the way down to the toes. Every last part of David is crafted to resemble the ideal and attainable body of a human. Artists were not afraid to depict the naked body as what it was, which is quite different from the thinking during the Middle Ages. Even

The pieces of art I will be comparing and contrasting are the three statues of David, by Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi), Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni), and Bernini (Gian Lorenzo Bernini). The statues are modeled after the biblical David, who was destined to become the second king of Israel. Also most famously known as the slayer of the Philistine giant Goliath with a stone and a sling. The sculptures are all based on the same biblical hero, but differ from one another. Each David is unique in its own certain way.

Michelangelo’s David is by far the one that can be easily identified or recognized by people around the world, but Bernini’s piece showed how modeling choices in sculpture eventually changed. Standing tall at 17 feet, Michelangelo’s sculpture shows an idealized David, with perfect proportions that are almost god-like (Haley “The Davids by Bernini, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio.”). In terms of the Counter Reformation, this went completely against what they were trying to portray. Bernini’s David allowed the viewer to connect with the story, because his depiction is a snapshot of David as he flings the slingshot at his opponent (Kleiner 653-654). The sculpture is full of action, drama, and the fact that it is life size makes the story feel closer to home.

The statue of David, completed by Michelangelo in 1504, is an easily recognizable symbol to people not only in Florence, but from all around the world. The David has a special meaning for Florentines, and is a symbol of what the city strives to be; strong, courageous, and youthful. The sculpture tells the tale of the battle between David and Goliath. David, a young boy at the time, was angered at the way Goliath was treating the Israelis and stood up to the giant feat of taking on Goliath. With a simple slingshot and stone, he defeated the angry giant, and became a symbol of liberty. The story shows that anything can be done with the help of God. David is not only the most well-known sculpture in the world, but is housed in one of the

Another thing that both sculptures have in common is the name of the sculpture, both received the name David. Both Michelangelo and Gianlorenzo got the image from the Old testament in the First Book of Samuel. The same person, just a different view of how this person really was. Not knowing anything about either of theses sculpture makes everyone forget what the real reason these sculptures are made. Soon after being fully made David, became a symbol of “defense of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence”. Another thing that is instantly noticeable is that both of them are made of marble.

Donatello’s David is shown more weak and incapable of causing the killing of a giant. I would say Donatello’s sculpture is more realistic than the idealization statue of Bermini’s David.

When thinking of sculptures, one of the first that comes to mind is David. This statue was created of marble between 1501 and 1504 and stands over 14 feet high. David is a symbol that represents strength and anger. The statue had intended political connotations for the ruling of the Medici family. Michelangelo used David as model of "heroic courage" to demonstrate that "spiritual strength can be more effective than arms". Michelangelo insisted that David should stand as a symbol of the republic and act as a warning that Florence shall be governed justly and bravely". This was the first time since antiquity that a large nude statue be exhibited in a public place.

“David Slaying Goliath” by Peter Paul Rubens is an example of Renaissance art. This painting depicts a well-known Bible story of a young Israelite boy named David who kills the giant, Goliath, with a slingshot, and chops off his head with a sword. Rubens has chosen to illustrate this Bible story at the moment when David is about to hack off Goliath’s head with the giant’s sword. In addition, we see armor-clad soldiers rushing into battle in the background. In “David Slaying Goliath,” Peter Paul Rubens uses color, value, and line to illustrate the dynamism and energy within the painting that makes it look realistic. In addition, these elements contribute to the sense of excitement and anticipation of the event depicted.