An Overview of David’s Story
One of the most well-known Old Testament stories in modern culture is the battle of David and Goliath. According to the Old Testament, the Philistines decided to fight the Israelites (Desnitsky, 2019). The Israeli army was led by Saul, and David’s older brothers were among the soldiers. David was very young and had worked so far as a sheepherder. Shortly before the war started, David’s father sent him to his siblings to bring them food. During his journey, David encountered the colossal Goliath, who blasphemed the Jewish God; none of the Israeli army dared to confront the giant. Then, with Saul’s approval, David decided to fight the monster. He turned down the sword and helmet since he didn’t know how to use them. The young man seized a stone from his sling and slung it at Goliath. A simple weapon struck the monster in the forehead, killing him instantly. When the Philistines found out that Goliath had been killed, their forces became confused, and the Israelites crushed them. However, there is no consensus about what is true and what is not in this story, and scholars disagree over David’s historicity.
Donatello’s David
Donatello’s David is believed to be one of the most influential sculptures, evoking many different meanings and questions that people in the XV century were concerned about. This is the statue that signaled the resurgence of the body cult (Coonin, 2019). The exact date when the sculpture was created is unknown. With his sculpture, Donatello repeated the traditional image of the hero. A contrapposto was chosen for the figure’s presentation: a loose posture in which one leg supports the body’s weight and the other is slightly bent. As a result, the sculpture presents a sense of movement.
This figure looked incredibly lifelike at the time of the Renaissance, particularly when it was compared to medieval sculptures. In terms of material, it bears a strong resemblance to antiquity. The sculpture is cast in bronze with a small bit of tin added for durability. The lost wax casting technique, which was typical for the ancient Greeks and Romans, was used to create the statue. In Donatello’s view, David is still a young man, but he will become a king in the future (Coonin, 2019). With a weapon in one hand and a stone in the other, David stands on Goliath’s severed head. He has a sensuality and elegancy in the way he lays his hand on his hip and looks down.
Verrocchio’s David
Since it was a famous sculpture, Verrocchio had to be aware of Donatello’s David, and he had no choice but to compete with his predecessor, whether he liked it or not. The sculptor nearly imitated Donatello’s David pose, in which the artist drew his left leg back, placed his left hand on a hip, and held a weapon in his right hand (Butterfield et al., 2019). The statue of Verrocchio, on the other hand, gives a completely different impression: triumphant in victory, his hero poses in front of adoring spectators, admiring himself. The main thing that sets him apart from Donatello’s self-absorbed, reflective David is his candor. The author creates this effect by having his hero stare straight ahead, half-smiling at the viewer. The face appears to be shining with joy and energy, and the entire figure exudes self-assurance and satisfaction.
The statue of Verrocchio can be perceived from different angles. Even if the sculpture is viewed from the back, the spectator can feel David’s confidence through the general movement of the young man and through the gesture of his left hand (Butterfield et al., 2019). There was no such thing in Donatello’s David, where the hero’s main point of view was from the front and the other sides were secondary.
In Verrocchio’s version David’s body can be seen through his clothes. He approaches the portrayal of a body with the rigor of a scientist, based on a thorough study of nature and a considerably greater understanding of anatomy than his predecessor. However, one should not assume that Verrocchio was portraying a specific young man who posed for him. The image he created is still ideal, and it perfectly reflects the development of the concept of beauty in the second half of the XV century.
It is important to understand that beauty, according to the views of the sculptor’s contemporaries, was, above all, the beauty of youth. That is why David’s physique resembles that of a fifteen-year-old young man. His hands are very thin, his shoulders are narrow, and his head is large. Clothing cannot hide the fragile body; the ribs can be seen through it; even the arms’ strained veins were captured by the sculptor.
Comparison between Donatello’s David and Verrocchio’s David should not lead to contrasting. Despite the apparent proximity of both statues, Italian masters set themselves completely different tasks and created entirely different images. Donatello’s David is a hero who is both natural and slightly naive in his actions. Verrocchio’s David is a young man from an aristocratic family who is elated by the triumph and universal attention.
Michelangelo’s David
Michelangelo’s David is depicted as a powerful man, the future King of Judah; according to the Old Testament descriptions, he will soon become one. The hero is presented in all of the brilliance of his perfect body’s beauty. The pose exudes confidence in his human strength, while the look conveys emotional tension and concentration (Wallace et al., 2019). It can be seen how tense his muscles and veins are. David appears to be preparing to throw a stone at Goliath.
Michelangelo’s David statue is one of the most prominent sculptures in Florence, if not the world. David was traditionally depicted triumphant over Goliath after his victory. Michelangelo, on the other hand, departs from the traditional representation of David. He doesn’t show us a winner, with the giant’s skull at his feet and a weapon in his hand, but rather an adolescent just before the fight.
In reality, the sculpture’s composition is more complex and political. Michelangelo emphasizes the mental rather than physical nature of David’s victory by omitting the usual bloody sword and gruesome severed head. This, as well as the statue’s placement near the Florentine government’s heart, was almost certainly a political statement (Wallace et al., 2019). Michelangelo attempted to demonstrate David’s personality as the key to his victory. David, like Florence itself, is strong-willed and ready to fight to the death. As a result, Michelangelo’s David has become one of the most well-known Renaissance sculptures, signifying strength as well as youthful human beauty. It combines High Renaissance aesthetics, XV century Florence politics, and Greek sculpture’s technical mastery.
References
Butterfield, A., Delaney, J., Dempsey, C., Hirschauer, G., Luchs, A., Melli, L., Smith, D., & Walmsley, E. (2019). Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence (Illustrated ed.). Princeton University Press.
Coonin, V. A. (2019). Donatello and the Dawn of Renaissance Art (Renaissance Lives) (1st ed.). Reaktion Books.
Desnitsky, A. S. (2019). King David: myth and history. Orientalistica, 2(3), 710–723. Web.
Wallace, W. E., Callow, S., & Princeton University Press. (2019). Michelangelo, God’s Architect: The Story of His Final Years and Greatest Masterpiece. Princeton University Press.