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By Donatello, Michelangelo and Bernini
Achievement of the Renaissance
The beginning of the Renaissance period
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Recommended: By Donatello, Michelangelo and Bernini
Michelangelo’s David that he sculpted from 1501 – 1504 is a piece of artwork that caught my eye during the study of the High Renaissance period. Michelangelo paid a lot of attention to the careful detail of the human anatomy and it shows in this statue. The statue is seventeen feet tall with small details such as muscle definition, veins in the skin, and curly locks of hair, and the details in the eye to let the viewer know that David is looking off into the distance, assumingly at Goliath. It is amazing that the artist was able to sculpt realistic details from solid marble.
Another detail that is worth noting is how different Michelangelo’s David is from Donatello’s David. Donatello’s work showed the man after his battle, Goliath’s head was
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Peter’s Pizza and the baldacchino, Bernini’s sculptures were the things he was known for second. Bernini’s David was another work that caught my eye that was based on the hero David. Standing at almost six feet tall, it is another statue made of marble that was sculpted in 1623 during the Baroque period, over a hundred years after Michelangelo’s piece and over two hundred years after Donatello’s piece. Although it is not as detailed as Michelangelo’s, there is still a strong sense of anatomy and details in the statue that are breathtaking. His hair, small bit of clothing, body language and expression are all conveyed successfully to show that the man is in the middle of action. The emotion, action and theatrical appearance were all characteristics of the art period at the time. Bernini, similar to Michelangelo, took a different step towards recreating …show more content…
This painting caught my eye because of the level of detail that Courbet put into the entire composition. The differences in age between the two people shown in the foreground gets Courbet’s intent for the painting across. He believed that if you are born poverty you will remain poor the rest of your life. The rendering of the folds in clothing, the rocks on the ground, and even the background all have the same amount of detail, Courbet did not take any shortcuts when doing this piece. It is interesting to see how the mundane things of life can be captured in a painting and made into something that is considered
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
The sculptures La Pieta and The David are both different and revolutionary. They have beautiful techniques which demonstrate Michelangelo’s
The Biblical Story of David, a young Israeli shepherd boy who slayed the Philistine giant, Goliath has been artistically portrayed in many different ways throughout the centuries. During the Baroque and Renaissance eras, three famous artists sculpted their own interpretation of what the Israelite King may have looked like. These men were Gianlorenzo Bernini, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and Donato Di Niccolo di Betto Bardi, otherwise known as Donatello.
David, a young Israelite teenager, is a character from a Biblical story who defeats and kills Goliath, a giant Philistine warrior, with a stone. The story shows how a young man overcomes oppositions and is a popular subject among various artists. David was famously depicted by Michelangelo and Bernini, who both used marble to create their statues. Both Michelangelo’s David and Bernini’s David statues are positioned in contrapposto, the asymmetrical positioning of the human form where all the weight of the form is positioned on one foot resulting in a curving of the torso and no alignment in the shoulders. Each figure also shows emotion and tension in their faces and body. Although they both chose David as the subject matter, the way they portray David differs stylistically, when they were made and the purpose of the works.
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
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 Buonarroti was one of the top three Italian artists. His work are examples of how great the art was in the High Renaissance Era. Michelangelo’s chalk drawing, Study of a Man, was his analysis of the way he saw the body and the way it was shaped and saw the different positions. By using critical thinking as he created his art, he had the ability to study the way a man looks. He was able to process how the way the body moves and sits.
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.
These sculptures presented the body in a way no had ever seen before. Most of the sculptures were very detailed, had Greek and Roman classical influences, and were free standing with the often use of bronze to construct them. A few examples of sculptures are Michelangelo’s David, Moses, and Pieta. His David marble sculpture glorifies the human body and is standing in a contrapposto stance, with more weight on one leg. Contrapposto is very humanistic as it was used a lot by ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. The facial expressions as well were very individualistic and emotional. Michelangelo’s Pieta was the most “perfect” block of marble he had ever used. This sculpture is Mary holding the dead body of Christ before he was placed in the tomb. The proportions of the body are not entirely natural in relation to the other as Mary’s body appears much larger than Christ’s. Michelangelo’s Moses was another example of a sculpture in the Renaissance. This sculpture is very large and shows the power of the man which gave people even more ideas about the
Thus, he created forceful, dynamic figures, almost separated from the outside world. By nature, Michelangelo appeared arrogant, dissatisfied, and melancholy [5]. This mood typically shines through his works—solitary bodies, somber faces, relaxed postures. By withdrawing himself from the company of men, he managed to focus more on the individualistic, masculine qualities of his sculptures. For example, David’s body—standing in a nude contrapposto—refers to images of classical antiquity (i.e. Hercules). The figure’s right leg assumes the majority of the weight, allowing the rest of the body to freely engage in something more complex. The right hand, gripping the stone, appears to tense; and his eyes dart left, suggesting sight of the beast, Goliath, to which the body follows the direction of the head and swerves around. Michelangelo demonstrates immense knowledge of the human body and its measures—the muscles, skeletal structure—that were previously unknown [6]. For years, in fact, he dissected human bodies to comprehend their internal mechanics: “There is no animal whose anatomy he would not dissect and he worked on so many human anatomies that those who have spent their lives at it and made it their profession hardly knows as much as he does,” [7]. The
...’s David fell prey to the image of a hero that was limited to the use of force and pride, while the marble statue done by Michelangelo wanted to show that no matter how great something/someone may seem; it is important to remember that there is a flaw in greatness and that it must be recognized before it consumes the entirety of the being. The marble statue of David is both menacing and beautiful, emphasizing the importance of inner strength over outer strength. This concept is something the appeared frequently in Biblical text and communicated to the people that there is no need to rely on the strength of gods or others. Classical Antiquity inspired the people of Florence to continue the legacy of a great empire and create an independent city-state of values that is reflected though astounding masterpieces that served a greater purpose than cathedral decorations.
This invention distinguish his David from any other David Statue before him. At Bernini’s ear, David was a popular subject in Italy. At that time Italy did not have a powerful central government, and cities were seeking for their independence. The story of David killed Goliath and won the independence of Israel was understand as a symbol of independent. Therefore the statue of David also had political meanings. The two most famous David were from Donatello and Michelangelo. Donatello made two David, one was marble and one was bronze, but the ideas behind them are same. Donatello’s David stood still. He had successfully achieve his goal and killed Goliath, whose head lying at his feet. Michelangelo’s David was nude and had perfect athletic muscles and proportion, and fairly smooth flesh. His body was so perfect that made him immortal and divine. He had not yet embarked on the actual combat but would departure instantly. He stood still confidently. Michelangelo’s David was actually much more vivid than Donatello’s. Nevertheless, when compared to Bernini’s David, even the former seems lack the sense of motion. Bernini made his David a mortal. Bernini expressed a man in the middle of his ferocious action in an ultra realistic
The masculine and idealized form of the human body is an ever-present characteristic of Michelangelo’s sculpture. Many people over the years have speculated why this may be, but there has never been a definitive answer, and probably never will be. Through all of his sculpture there is a distinct classical influence, with both his subject matter and his inclination to artistically create something beautiful. In most cases, for Michelangelo, this means the idealized human figure, seeping with contraposto. This revival of classical influences is common for a Renaissance artisan, but the new, exaggerated form of the human body is new and unique to Michelangelo’s artistic style.
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 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