Donatello's David Research Paper

The Renaissance, or rebirth, was a time of enlightenment filled with art and religion. Art and religion were so prevalent that the two naturally overlapped. For example, two of these religious art pieces were of David, who is now a popular Sunday school character. One created by the artist Donatello and one created around seventy-five years later by the artist Michelangelo. David is a remarkably significant character to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. He is known for contributing to the book of psalms, becoming king of the Jews, and is best recognized for killing the Philistine giant Goliath. It is no wonder why these two virtuosos of their craft would create pieces to resemble him, but the similarities and differences between the two masterpieces

Donatello’s David is made of bronze and around five feet tall, while Michelangelo’s David is of marble and seventeen feet tall. Michelangelo’s David is fully nude, while Donatello’s David is wearing boots and a helmet. Moreover, Donatello’s David appears more feminine, was the first nude sculpture in centuries, and is thought to possibly be a homosexual expression (Schneider, 1973). The placement of Michelangelo’s David was also disputed more than Donatello’s (Parks, 1975). Furthermore, both David’s appear to be depicted as two different scenes in the battle against Goliath. The piece by Donatello is standing on the head of Goliath with a sword in his hand, and, in contrast, the piece by Michelangelo is only holding a slingshot and standing on the plain rock. Donatello’s David has a cocky stance with his arm on his him that almost says “Killing Goliath was a piece of cake” Michelangelo’s David is looking off, and his face is like that of a batter stepping to the plate. It is a look of confidence, determination, and a tad of anger. Therefore, Michelangelo’s art is interpreted as David about to fight Goliath, and Donatello’s art is interpreted as after David has won (Hughes,