DAVID by DONATELLO

I. DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK

A. Dimension of the WorkHeight: 5 ft, 2 and ¼ inches

B. Medium UsedBronze

C. LocationOriginal locaton: Palazzo MediciPresent location: Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, Italy

D. Date Made1425 – 1430 (Early Renaissance)

II. CONTENT / MEANING OF THE WORK

The statue of David, by Donatello, depicts a young David standing nude and holding in his hand Goliath's sword, above the head of the dead Giant. Donatello's statue depicts a nude, with some feminine features. Having feminine body serves both as a possible explanation of Jonathan's love for him (because he was beautiful like a woman) as well as to show that his accomplishment in tossing the stone at Goliath was not a result of his feminine like physic but rather of God's will. David's nudity at the time of the battle is contrasted with Goliath's heavy armor, for the head, which is visible under the Hero's feet, is covered in the most part by an iron helmet.

Donatello has softened the static balance and firm stance of the traditional male figure. This softening is evident in the placement of the two hands as well as the way David's free leg gently rests on the head of Goliath. The smooth, polished skin is set off against the rougher boots and curly locks of hair. This reference to touch is especially apparent in the detail of the feather stroking the inner thigh of David's leg and in the detail of the way David runs his toes through the locks of Goliath's beard. There is a disjunction between David's refined and graceful pose with the apparent reverie and beauty of the facial expression and the gruesomeness of the decapitated head of Goliath at his feet. It is hard to imagine this beautiful youth has moments ago had been engaged in mortal combat and cut off the head of Goliath.

David is not completely nude. David wears a hat, which has a laurel on top, and a pair of boots on his legs. The hat David is wearing is a straw hat. Peasants, shepherds and others working in the open air wore these hats. Not being of much value in cold weather, the straw hat is aimed mainly to protect from the sun. Therefore it is appropriate to David who came to fight Goliath from the desert and therefore was wearing indeed clothes for hot weather. Being mainly a practical garment of the lower classes, rather than a fashion statement, the straw hat had many varieties and shapes according to different regions. The laurel on top of the hat is the symbol for a victorious general in roman times.

It is uncertain at this time whether the boots David wears, are military gear, or a shepherd's boots. It would seem plausible that they are not metallic for David had rejected the hero's armor because it was not comfortable to maneuver with it, so there is no reason to assume he would have left on a metallic foot-wear. The fact that they are open-toed suggests (as does the straw hat) a warm weather, and perhaps the sculptor's wish to have the toes visible.

Donatello most likely received the idea of Ancient time warriors fighting in the nude with helmet and boots from Greek Vase paintings depicting such scenes. However, at his time, it is unknown whether Donatello had available to him one of the Greek vases with such a depiction. Unlike, these ancient warriors, David has instead of a helmet (symbolizing the warrior) - the shepherd's hat, in order to identify him as a shepherd as well as a warrior.

On the helmet of Goliath is depicted a scene of the ark of the covenant carried by angles, and above the ark are the priests Ophni and Pinnees given offerings from the angels of God. This scene is part of the battle in which the Israelites brought to the battle field with the Philistines their most holy object (the ark of the covenant), trusting that God would bring them victory, yet the Philistines were the victorious ones, and God did not help Israel (1 Samuel 4:3-22).

It is well known that David was a symbol of the Florentine Republic, which like the Old Testament youth stood up to its rivals.

In the context of the fifteenth century, adolescence was an extended period between childhood and full adult maturity for the male in Renaissance Florence. The figure's slim proportions, long locks of hair, and detached glance parallel those of the Donatello David suggest a strong effeminate quality. The social construction of the adolescent in Renaissance Florence is given visual form in these representations.

III. CHARACTERISTIC OF THE WORK

In keeping with the spirit of humanism, artists of the early Renaissance strove to portray lifelike human forms with correct proportions and realistic clothing and expressions. Artists developed new techniques to give paintings a more three-dimensional, life-like quality, and commonly studied human and animal anatomy in efforts to better understand their subjects.

Italian Art of the 15th Century aims to remap the rich terrain of the Renaissance through a critical juxtaposition of new and historical writing on the art of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Setting contributions to dominant themes and current scholarship, including gender studies, material culture and patronage, against the concerns of the older, 'classic' literature, this exciting anthology clarifies both the limitations and values of received analytical structures and suggests new avenues of inquiry. Thematic and reflexive, Italian Art of the 15th Century interrogates one of the most fertile periods in art history as a cultural phenomenon--taking Italy as its geographical starting point and opening out to a consideration of themes on the international stage. Early renaissance is also characterizes the rendering of ideal forms rather than literal appearance and the concept of the physical world as the vehicle or imperfect embodiment of monumental spiritual beauty

David, first bronze statue of the Renaissance which depicts the Hebrew king in the classical style of a Greek god, and was the first freestanding nude figure sculpted since the Roman era with range of emotion and filled with energy and thought, was not only know as the slayer of Goliath but also served as a symbol for Florence's love of liberty. He represents the one who took on a power much larger than himself and conquered that power. For this reason, Donatello gives us David as an adolescent boy. This sensuous figure looks down at his own body as if due to his heroic act, he is seeing for the first time his own beauty and strength. The subject of this sculpture is self discovery. David was modeled on classical sculptures like the Doryphoros. In fact, he was the first freestanding nude to be created since classical antiquity. During the Christian Middle Ages, nudes were considered idolatrous and indecent. Following that classical tradition, he is seen standing in the contraposto position, with an idealized body and expressionless face. This is David after the battle. The head of Goliath under his foot. It is a free-standing figures with a range of emotions and filled with energy and thought.

IV. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Croix, H. (1970). “Art Through Ages.” 6th Ed. Javanonich, Inc: United Sates of America, p. 436.

Keller, H. (1969). “The Renaissance in Italy.” Sansoni, Editure: Florence, Italy. p. 126 – 127

Monteverdi, M. (1965). “The Book of Art: Halian Art to 1850”/ Grolier, Inc., p. 64.

Murray P. and Murray, L. (1963). “The Art of the Renaissance”. Frederick A. Praeger, Inc.,p.41 -42

http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/arth213/donatello_david.html

http://daphne.palomar.edu/mhudelson/StudyGuides/DontlovsMichel_WA.html