Introduction
There is hardly a single person who is unaware of the story of David, the King of Israel. Claimed to be the ancestor of Jesus, King David is quite a famous Biblical character and a nonetheless important historic character. David started his journey as a warrior; he was also known for playing the lyre. He soon became one of the armor bearers for Saul, a possessed madman.
After the latter claimed to have been cured by David’s playing the lyre, David became famous among the local people (though there were certain controversies about the death of the latter (Slavicek 34). However, it was not until his battle with Goliath that his deeds were finally considered miraculous.
It is often argued, though, that David’s influence was so strong not because of his outstanding power and strength, but because of his incredible cunningness and his sharp mind. Anyway, David managed to fight Goliath, the giant, successfully, though there were certain controversies about his death (Slavicek 40), and soon gained the title of the King in Hebron, overthrowing Judah. After the coronation, David changed his name to Solomon.
Apart from being a reasonable monarch, David also proved to be an amazing commander, with the genius of his military leader, the Website, a fortress in Jerusalem, being finally conquered.
David survived the betrayal of one of his sons and bid his last goodbye to the other one when finally turning bedridden. Listing all David’s deeds in a single paper is practically impossible; suffice to say, he was one of the people that made a difference in the history of the humankind, changing the landscape of religion, politics, and culture (Slavicek 108).
The story of David, or Solomon, has stirred the minds of thousands of people since its very start. As a result, numerous artists devoted their finest works to David and tried to represent their ideas of his accomplishment and personality. Among the ones that are most well known nowadays, the sculptures created by Michelangelo, Donatello and Verrocchio, the famous Renaissance artists, should be mentioned.
Although the sculptures of David designed by Michelangelo, Donatello, and Verrocchio are linked through a common idea of returning to the Ancient Greek Classicism principles, the stylistic choices that the artists made in their portrayal of David, a man known both as a historic character and a Biblical one, show graphically that the Renaissance Era was more than mere reiteration of the Classicism ideas.
Donatello’s David
Donatello’s David, the first one to speak about, is slightly different from the one that Donatello created. The cast of bronze and striking a very unusual pose, not to mention the fact that the clothes “worn” by David were considered very inappropriate at the time, the sculpture represented a challenge to the sanctimony of the societal norms of the era.
Whenever one casts a glance at the statue, one would notice inevitably that the religious aspects of David’s story were shifted into the background, whereas the ideas of Renaissance as a period of reconsideration of social morals were highlighted. To start with, the fact that David has little to no clothes on, as well as the pose, which Donatello chose for the statue and which can be seen as rather effeminate, can be viewed as hints to implied homosexuality:
There is a sensual element of Donatello’s statue of David that goes beyond a masterful display of beautiful bodily form and approaches abstract Neoplatonic thought. The feather of Goliath’s helmet caresses the inner right thigh of David. This detail brings to mind Jupiter’s eagle, as the boy himself makes one think of Ganymede. (Smalls 56)
One might argue, though, that the innuendoes mentioned above have little to do with the author’s actual intent.
Indeed, according to other sources, the “relaxed contrapposto stanza” (Adams 148) can be attributed to Donatello’s attempt at following the principles of the Classical sculpture architecture principles, which presuppose that the hero should be depicted as graceful and refined, with much attention paid to making the character’s pose and the supposed movements graceful and even somewhat mannered.
Hence the seeming affectation of David’s pose and overall looks stems from. The seductive air that the entire sculpture is shot through is, however, undeniable – the author was aiming at challenging the then concepts of morals and social standards. More to the point, Adams points out the fact that the relief on Goliath’s helmet, which David is holding in his hands, also has a group of winged putti (Adams 149), also known as miniature figures of Eros.
Thus, Thus, Donatello was trying to challenge the society of the Renaissance, pushing it even further towards acknowledging the fact that adherence to the Christian principles of virtue does not presuppose ascetic life and shunning of everything that can be attributed to human nature.
Verrocchio’s David
Verrocchio’s David, in his turn, seems a reasonable compromise between the traditional representation of the King of Israel and a more effeminate rendition of this historic character. True, Verrocchio aimed at portraying David as a warrior and a political thinker rather than a tortured soul, who is in search of a compromise between his duties and his beliefs.
However, much to his credit, the author also introduced a couple of elements, which made Donatello’s artwork so scandalous. For example, the slim and rather effeminate features of David’s appearance, especially his slender figure and his thin face, create a striking contrast with how David was represented by other artists, such as Michelangelo.
Much like in Donatello’s case, the nudity of Verrocchio’s David seems heroic and pits a more powerful emphasis on David’s strength. Goliath’s head also helps create the impression of the anticipation of a hero coming from the battlefield.
A detail worth noting concerns the position of Goliath’s head; even though it is rather hard to figure out now, where it was originally supposed to be placed, it is traditionally put either between David’s feet, as Verrocchio supposedly created the sculpture, or lying next to David and a bit on the side (Vogel para. 5).
Though the location of the head might seem a minor nitpick, its placement affects the interpretation of the sculpture greatly. While between David’s feet, it shows his strength and indestructibility, when put on the side, it hints at David’s cunningness and ability to think and act fast. Therefore, Verrocchio interprets David’s personality as the spirit of a military man and a person that revolutionized Hebron.
Michelangelo’s David
The analysis of the representation of David in the Renaissance art would be incomplete without saying a couple of words about Michelangelo’s work.
Perhaps, one of the most famous sculptures not only in the Renaissance era but also one of the most famous sculptures period, Michelangelo’s David incorporates both the elements of the Christian influence on the society and the attempts of the artists of the time to reconsider the ancient principles of proportions and geometry in art.
When it comes to defining the details, which set Michelangelo’s work apart from the other two, one must mention the color cast first. Choosing marble as the key material to work with, Michelangelo makes his task of portraying the historical figure both more challenging and more enticing.
Another combination of naturalism and idealism, it represents the rebirth of the idea of taking off the shackles of sin and redemption and celebrating vivacity and the return of the principles of humanism. The human nature was no longer considered a pit of vile and vulgarity, and the statue of David displays the pride in the human race in the most obvious way possible.
To start with, the immense sense of life that the entire sculpture projects onto the viewers should be noted. The idea of perfection of human body fills the entire sculpture: David is portrayed without the diffident attempts at covering the nudity – on the contrary, his stature and poise are what makes the sculpture so powerful and impressive. Also, the use above of color also contributes to the impression of human body perfection.
The fact that Michelangelo used white marble as the key material shows that the beauty of human body no longer needs to be put into the shadow – quite on the contrary, it deserves to be noticed and glorified. Apart from focusing on the physical aspects of this representation of David, Michelangelo also provided a completely different outlook on the personal choices that David had to make.
For example, David’s hesitation before his battle with the Goliath is rarely rendered in other works; more to the point, even the Bible does not have much information to offer. Michelangelo, in his turn, managed to capture the pain and torment that avid was going through when making the choice that would either lead to his death or make him famous and honored.
The expression on David’s face, thoughtful and troubled, with no sign of fear, though, displays the complexity of making this decision in a very graphic manner. The pose, which Michelangelo has chosen for the statue, relaxed and even rather laid back, creates a striking contrast with the frowned look and a very strained expression on David’s face, thus, making the impression of battle anticipation even more tangible.
It is worth noting that none of the artists mentioned previously considered the idea of introducing the hardships of making a choice into their works – both Verrocchio and Donatello seem to have focused on depicting the glory and strength of David, whereas Michelangelo was the first to analyze the psychology of the Biblical and historic character (Nickerson 85).
Conclusion
Though the three works representing David follow the Renaissance canon quite closely and have a range of things in common, starting with the idea behind the artwork down to the key principles of architecture, which the sculpture creation was based on, some of the stylistic choices still show that the authors have focused on different stages of David’s life and managed to come up with entirely different interpretations of David both as a Biblical character and a historic persona.
Works Cited
Adams, Laure Schneider. Italian Renaissance Art. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. 2001. Print.
Nickerson, Angela K. A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome. Berkeley, CA: Roaring Forties Press. 2008. Print.
Slavicek, Louise Chipley. King David. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing. 2009. Print.
Smails, James. Homosexuality in Art. New York, NY: Parkstone Publishers. 2012. Print.
Vogel, Carol. “Goliath Smote, then Smote Again; New Look at a Sculpture of David Finds His Foe’s Head Misplaced.”New York Times 2003.