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 most visited galleries in the world, the Galleria dell’Accademia. The David did not always stand high above the crowds filing through the Accademia, however, several other locations were considered and carried out for the statue. The David has a long history of where it was to be placed in the city of Florence, and this paper is going to explore the several locations of where the David was going to be placed, and why it ended up in the Galleria dell’Accademia.
When Michelangelo first started sculpting the David, he was given a piece of damaged marble to carry out his work with. This marble was commissioned to Agostino di Duccio by the wool manufacturers’ guild, but having given up, he left it abandoned in the courtyard of what is now the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo. Another artist, Antonio Rossellino “attempted to complete the commission, but in 1477 he too gave up in defeat” (Partridge, 2009). The guild then passed on the challenge of sculpting the David out of this damaged marble to Michelangelo, ...
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...e political beliefs of important Florentines in the 16th century, and ultimately helps explain why the David is where is is today, and how it got there.
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A little over 6 feet of marble, Donatello’s first version of David was one of his earliest known commisions that mark the beginning of his artistic career. He was commissioned by the Operai of the cathedral of Florence to create a David statue to decorate one of the buttresses. The statue ended up looking too small when placed high up, so it was taken down and later requested to be displayed in Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall. Many historians dismiss his first version of David, calling this piece unoriginal and nothing to praise.
Bernini’s “David” is 5 foot, 7 inches tall and was made in the year 1623. It is from the Baroque period, a time of discovery, exploration and increased trade. Bernini’s “David” is a three-dimensional sculpture that gives the viewer the ability to relate the image with one’s body and not only in one’s mind. Bernini wanted to show the intensity and dramatic tension in the hero David as he prepares to cast the stone from the sling. In contrast to the intensity of Bernini’s David, Michelangelo’s “David” looks much more contemplative, statuesque and less “life-like” than Bernini’s. This marble sculpture, unlike Michelang...
Where one is a bronze statue with a singular figure, the other is a painting with a central figure, from which the story is built. However, their contrasts go beyond what they are made of, to their different subjects and their complexity. Donatello’s David shows youthful beauty and strength, which he confidently exudes through his body language. Standing with one foot atop Goliath’s severed head while turning his body to balance his weight to the other leg, this statue is a clear example of Contrapposto, which the Greeks invented and introduced into their sculptures. Donatello’s statue of David stands triumphant and proudly atop his trophy, while telling the audience I am the conqueror of Giants. His expression is stern to match his
Hartt, Frederick, and David G. Wilkins. History of Italian Renaissance art. 6th ed. of the book. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2006.
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.
Influenced by individualist principles, early Renaissance sculpture was marked by a greater and more meticulous understanding of the human body. Donatello’s David brought to Italian culture a revival of the free-standing nude, prompting an appreciation for perfected human anatomy that is palpable throughout the remainder of the Renaissance and still noticeable in the artistic context of Western culture that follows. The peculiarity of the bronze statue from those of the preceding Middle Ages is archetypically Renaissance in nature; David's pose is nonchalant and his expression pensive, neither of which seems to coincide with the narrative chapter; the Biblical hero's soft body and lack of pronounced muscular development is often interpreted as uncharacteristically effeminate. While the statue’s nudity can be explain in terms of Biblical anthology, as David was said to have refused to wear armor to his battle with Goliath, the accessories in which he is clad seem nonsensical contextually—a laurel on his hat indicates that David was a poet, and the hat on his head is of a foppish Renaissance design. Perhaps most controversially, the statue’s presence has been interpreted as homosexual in nature; while homosexuality was usual in classical antiquity, during the time of the Renaissance such “sodomy” was illicit and believed to be heathen in nature. Donatello show's here, truly, a coalescence of Christian narrative with both the glory of ancient artists and the contemp...
Johnson, Geraldine A. Renaissance Art, A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Smith, R. “Eternal objects of desire. Art Review- Art and love in Renaissance Italy” in New York Times Art and Design, November 20, (2008)
Brucker, Gene A. & Co. Renaissance Florence. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1969. Mandelbaum, Allen. A.
Through imagination and skill, artist lure select audiences into different minds and creative worlds, provoking a deeper understanding of events, ideas, and communities of previous eras. Michelangelo, for example, offers insight into religious, social, and political situations of the western world. By decoding two of his most iconic pieces—the statue of David and the Sistine Chapel—we gain a larger context for the fourteenth century Renaissance: stressing themes of humanism, patronage, and more.
Donatello's David is a bronze sculpture made between 1430 and 1432, and is remarkable for the fact that it is the first sculpture cast in bronze. The statue depicts David after his victory over Goliath. First, the life-size statue is on a round hump since ancient times. Donatello had already realized an amber David for the cathedral of France. The statue only wears legg...
Turner, A. Richard. Renaissance Florence; The Intvention of a New Art. New York, NY`: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1997.
Michelangelo’s David does not react with the surroundings but it stands alone with the little movements disguised behind it. The sculpture brings out David as a soldier preparing for war and not a person engaged in a battle (Miller, Vandome, & McBrewster, 2010). The hands are larger than normal and the arms are longer than his body. This is meant to illustrate the renaissance period. In contrast, the Bernini’s David has aspects of motion, showing that he was already engaged in the battle with Goliath. The idea of movement is enhanced by the loosely flowing robes. In addition, the sculpture demonstrates that unlike Michelangelo’s David that has longer hands, Bernini’s David has contracted muscles. The Michelangelo’s sculpture was created during Renascence period while the Bernini’s sculpture was done during the Baroque period.
The Pieta as a master piece of work is an art sculpture of Michelangelo located within the Vatican City inside St. Peter’s Basilica and where as is described by to Fisher, it is not possible to see it from outside (2007). Made from only one piece of white marble from Carrara, it was created for the period of the years 1498 and 1499 taking two years to its completion. Among the greater variety of works by this artist, it is the first that was worked on bearing the same theme of pain and redemption combined with beauty s the final product. It is also the only one that bears his signature on the diagonal ribbon across Mary’s chest. Pieta ...
Larmann, R., & Shields, M. (2011). Art of Renaissance and Baroque Europe (1400–1750). Gateways to Art (pp. 376-97). New York: W.W. Norton.