David, David, and David

Many artists have fashioned statues David, the mighty slayer of Goliath in the Biblical Story. Such examples are the works of Michelangelo, Donatello, and Bernini. Although each person all uses the same subject matter, the portrayal of David is greatly different between each.

In Bernini’s David, a piece from the Baroque Era, David is captured in stone at the point where he is about to cast the fatal stone at the opposing giant. Bernini does not try to create the perfect picture of the human body, as Michelangelo did in his work, but instead he tries to capture the height of emotion. This can plainly be seen by the disheveled hair on David’s head, and the look of concentration on his face, as well as the pose he is in. The statue also makes you walk around it, as you cannot see the entire focus of the work from any one angle.

As before mentioned, Michelangelo tried to capture the image of the perfect man, in his own view of course. In Michelangelo’s statue, David is casually standing, seemingly unperturbed at any surrounding he might be in. The statue shows a man with what could be consider extremely good, if not perfect physique. The statue seems to almost show, not a mortal man, but a deity in human form.

In Donatello’s David, the subject stands leaning on a sword, standing over the severed head of Goliath. In the statue, David wears a large hat, and his hair easily reaches his shoulders. His expression and posture suggest a jovial, victorious attitude, but to me it also appears as a more feministic approach at the sculpting of David. Instead of a buff and broad hulk, it seems to me to be a more slender and lean figure.

Once again, though many statues have been made of David, no statue is completely similar in its portrayal or attitude.