David

David

Michaelangelo

“David.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/David-sculpture.

Keizer, Joost. “Giuliano Salviati, Michelangelo and the 'David'.” The Burlington Magazine 150, no. 1267 (October 2008): 664–68. https://www-jstor-org.proxy.lib.duke.edu/stable/40479899?pq-origsite=summon&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

Michelangelo’s David was carved from 1501 to 1504. The statue stands at about 5.5m tall. The marble block used by Michelangelo to carve David had initially been partially used by artists Agostino di Duccio and Antonio Rossellino in the 15th century. Originally commissioned for the cathedral of Florence, the sculpture was ultimately put on the Palazzo Vecchio by the government of Florence. It currently sits in the Accademia [1].

David is thought to be depicted in a moment before the battle. He appears focused with a warning gaze to the right. He is nude and carries his sling over his shoulder in preparation to fight Goliath. David stands upright with a tilt in contrapposto. This pose, iconic to the Renaissance era, signals to the viewer that while David is standing still, he awaits uncertainty and will soon move.

The uncertainty and potential for motion is novel in comparison to other major sculptures of David that came from artists prior to Michelangelo, such as Donatello - in Donatello’s depiction, David stands victorious. Michelangelo’s David shows themes iconic to the renaissance, with his realism of proportions and anatomy, depiction of drapery and history, and contrapposto [2].

Though Michelangelo does depart from the stillness and certainty in previous sculptures, Bernini captures the antithesis of these qualities. Both Bernini and Michelangelo embrace tension and uncertainty, but Bernini couples this with capturing motion.

With the large scale of Michelangelo’s David and placement atop a high pedestal, paired with the stillness and upright nature of the composition, the viewer is not a part of David's scene. Instead, the viewer looks up his figure, almost in admiration. Contrastingly, Bernini’s life size sculpture places the user into the scene and motion unfolding, as does Rubens’ painting. Having been completed a century before Bernini's David, Michelangelo's David shows a prior ideal for the medium of sculpture. This comparison shows how Bernini stands out in uniting visual art media by capturing characteristics of paintings in his sculpture.

[1] “David.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed December 2, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/David-sculpture.

[2] Keizer, Joost. “Giuliano Salviati, Michelangelo and the 'David'.” The Burlington Magazine 150, no. 1267 (October 2008): 664–68. https://www-jstor-org.proxy.lib.duke.edu/stable/40479899?pq-origsite=summon&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents.

1501-1504

Meena Gudapati

5.5 m

Sculpture

Accademia, Florence, Italy