The biblical hero, David, has been created in sculptural form by Donatello and Bernini. Donatello created his David during the Renaissance Period, a time when religious themes mingled with secular, and when the nude was reintroduced. His was a groundbreaking sculpture, that of the first life-sized nude in a thousand years. Bernini created his marble David during the Baroque Period, when realistic details and nudes were portrayed by many artists, and politics and religion were closely entwined. Although created about 160 years apart, the two sculptures share similarities such as being life sized, with an accent on nudity and the beauty of the human body, yet show David with very different emotional and contextual content. Comparing some of the similarities and differences between the pieces should provide the viewer with insights into understanding details about the compositions and each artist’s purpose in their creation. …show more content…
Donatello’s youthful David stands about 5’ 2” tall (Stokstad & Cothren. He stands upright, with long, linear lines formed by his torso and legs while his arms angle outward, forming a roughly triangular shape to his figure. Bernini’s David stands about 5’ 7” tall (Stokstad & Cothren). He stands leaning strongly to the right, with long angular lines created by his body. Emphasis on the naked male figure is apparent in both works with little or no clothing shown. Donatello’s David stands boldly naked, wearing just a hat and boots. David’s body is slight, with gently curving limbs and slightly swollen belly and breasts. Bernini’s David stands with his robe flung off, while a small fold of fabric still covers his upper thigh and pelvis. His body has highly defined muscles, as if he has been caught in motion. In both statues, textural depictions of skin appear
David is a life-size marble statue which is 1.7 meters high. Bernini’s David shows the moment when David was about to kill Goliath. David is virtually nude. He hold his stone on the sling with his left hand, and his right hand hold the
Donatello is the first and only artist out of the three (himself, Michelangelo and Bernini) to sculpt David where he is standing victorious over the head of Goliath. His first version of David shows a young hero dressed in robes in a somewhat cocky position. His left hand is placed on his hip while he bears a neutral facial expression. The head of Goliath is placed between his feet while he stands in a slight
Anticipated similarities exist between the Roman copy of Doryphorus and Donatello’s David, for the former replicates a product of Classical Greece while the latter is reminiscent of this artistic epoch (The Renaissance was a “re-birth” of this classical form). However, though formal qualities of Classical Greece may be present in David, they are uncharacteristically fashioned; therefore, major degrees of difference are established in terms of characterization. While Doryphorus is a typical example of reconciling idealism and naturalism, Polykleitos does not provide a depth of narrative subtext to this figure. On the other hand, Donatello overtly characterizes David through his effeminate if not androgynous form to deliver a powerful narrative (Duro). From the stance and posture of each sculpture to the use of nudity, Polykleitos’s Doryphorus and Donatello’s David present similarities accountable for in a historical context; however, the obvious structural differences must be
are depicted with the same degree of variation. To understand such a diverse set of paintings –
The statue of David best describes the ongoing influence of Protestant and catholic controversy on the visual arts. Michaelangelo uses David, a character from the Old Testament as his subject matter. The story goes that David, a mer man throws a stone with a slingshot at the mighty giant Goliath and kills him. (Your basic good vs. Evil.) Michaelangelo uses Clericism in this piece by incorporating a story from the bible, and on the other hand also incorporates his humanism influence into the work of art by placing himself as the character David; Giving us the impression that even the mer man can overcome his problems with knowledge of how to defeat them, instead of continually relying on the almighty to solve your problems for you. David shows the 2 conflicting views in a magnificent statue form.
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
A good deal is known about Donatello's life and career, but little is known about his character. Donatello was born in Florence, Italy in 1386 and died in 1466; he was never married and had no children. He was a master of sculpture in bronze and marble and is considered to be one of the greatest Italian Renaissance artists of his time. The first sculpture is of Donatello?s David, 1425-1430. Its material is bronze and stands 5? 2 ¼? and is currently located at Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence. The sculpture is a nude and is contrapposto. The scene being depicted is after the clash with Goliath. Donatello?s statue of David was the first large scale, free-standing nude statue of the Renaissance. The sculpture helps to strike a balance between classicism and the realism by presenting a very real image of a boy in the form of a classical nude figure. Although Donatello was inspir...
The texture seems to be smooth. Time and movement does seem to exist because he is just standing there. Donatello used basic color to complete “David” with bronze that comes off to the eyes as black. Variety is the most prominent element and principle. The sculpture came from a story in the Bible and in the small little visual Donatello basically told the whole story.
Donatello was the son of Niccolo di Betto Bardi, a Florentine wool carder. It is not known how he started his career but probably learned stone carving from one of the sculptors working for the cathedral of Florence about 1400. Sometime between 1404 and 1407 he became a member of the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti who was a sculptor in bronze. Donatello’s earliest work was a marble statue of David. The “David” was originally made for the cathedral but was moved in 1416 to the Palazzo Vecchio which is a city hall where it long stood as a civic patriotic symbol. From the sixteenth century on it was eclipsed by the gigantic “David” of Michelangelo which served the same purpose. Other of Donatello’s early works which were still partly gothic are the impressive seated marble figure of St. John the Evangelist for the cathedral and a wooden crucifix in the church of Sta. Croce.
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...
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...
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.
Anticipated similarities exist between the Roman copy of Doryphorus and Donatello’s David, for the former replicates a product of Classical Greece while the latter is reminiscent of this artistic epoch (The Renaissance was a “re-birth” of this classical form). However, David’s structural presence is atypical regarding Classical Antiquity; therefore, major degrees of difference emerge in terms of characterization and narrative. Doryphorus is a conventional example of reconciling idealism and naturalism. Polykleitos creates a prototypical male physique, yet this ideal athletic figure lacks individualism. Conversely, Donatello overtly characterizes David through his effeminate if not androgynous form. This expressive portrayal inspires several
“Compare the ways in which the authors of the two texts convey ideas about art through their central characters?
The David’s that we are going to compare are all within the Renaissance time period and by comparing them you can see the shifts in thought and viewpoint within that period. The three statues of David by Donatello, Verrocchio, and Michelangelo all are great depictions of this story while portraying values of the Italian Renaissance period. They have many things in common while also having their own