Preview

David, Michelangelo and Donatello.

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1001 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
David, Michelangelo and Donatello.
During the renaissance Michelangelo had created many magnificent pieces of art, one of which is the most well-known pieces among the world; the sculpture of David. The Michelangelo sculpture of David wasn’t the only one created during its time, for Donatello had created one some years before hand. Among the two sculptures, Michelangelo’s has a more profound, fascinating, and exceptional quality to it that contributed greatly to the Renaissance. The High Renaissance was a period denoting the apogee of the visual arts in the Italian Renaissance during of which two artists were commissioned to sculpt a very historical figure by the name of David who threw his heroism slaed a Goliath. Donatello’s and Michelangelo sculpture of David are both remarkable pieces of art that have many similarities and differences. In my opinion, I think Michelangelo’s statue of David overall is relaxed pose, but the tension of the statue is held in the face of David. Paying close attention to the statue’s face, one would notice his eye brows are in a downward narrow position. This would indicate to the viewer that there is more behind in the statue than just a casual pose. Also Michelangelo demonstrates a profound knowledge of the human anatomy. As I stated before, the detailed intensity of the eyes and eyebrows and the focus it brings to the face. His eyes are in a keen state focusing on an impending battle; furthermore the face is filled with confidence and aggression. Standing in a relaxed state and, he’s naked but Michel depicted David as a hero. These similarities and differences in the sculptures represent the artists themselves, the Florentine people, as well as the governing body of Florence. The poses, stances, and features of each piece shows different aspects and characteristics of what the society of the time embodied. Donatello sculpture was commissioned during a time where change was unacceptable, and certain guide lines had to be followed this

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    APEH Semester 1 Study Guide

    • 4048 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Donatello-> (1386-1466) An Italian painter and sculptor. Donatello was a key figure in the early Florence renaissance. Major works includ David, Virgin and Child with Four Angels, St Mark and The Feast of Herod.…

    • 4048 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed” (Michelangelo). Michelangelo was one of the great artist who created great art during the Renaissance period. One of his most popular paintings is the Ceiling from the Sistine Chapel with the Creation of Adam being the main focal point. Art in the Renaissance period was more focused on the aspects of realism, humanism, and the prospective of what was created. Leonardo da Vinci was perhaps the most interesting artist of the Renaissance period; with that, he still holds presumably the most idealized painting in the world today, priced upwards of $1 Billion the Mona Lisa. Both…

    • 230 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci around 1503-6, is oil on panel. It is a three quarter portrait of a young, Florentine woman. She is sitting in a chair with her torso twisting around to face the viewer. Her hands are resting on the arm of the chair. Behind the woman in the background is a landscape very characteristic of many Leonardo paintings. The Mona Lisa was painted toward the end of Leonardo’s career. In contrast, the David created by Michelangelo around 1501-4, is a marble sculpture of the biblical hero David. The seventeen foot tall statue depicts a young man standing in contrapposto. Most of his weight is supported with is right leg, while his left leg is relaxed. He holds his sling over his left shoulder and a rock in his right hand. His torso faces forward while his head twists to the left with an apprehensive, determined expression.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dutch Republic DBQ

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Humanism, during the Renaissance period not only involved the study of ancient culture, but it also instilled a sense of respect towards human beings. Many artists at the time focused on the beauty and elegance of the human body. One of these artists was Michelangelo, a sculptor and painter. One of his most famous pieces of work was “David”, a 17 foot tall statue of a man. Michelangelo focused on making the statue as realistic as possible, in order to capture said elegance and beauty. Also, due to the context of the statue being directly after David had slain the goliath, Michelangelo chose “David” to be in a victorious pose. This…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    research paper

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I am comparing Bernini’s David of the Baroque era and Michelangelo’s David from the Italian Renaissance. Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time. He was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance. Michelangelo’s David was a masterpiece sculpture, created between 1501 – 1504 that is a marble statue, of a standing male nude. The 17 foot statue was placed in Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. The statue represents a Biblical hero named David, after he made his decision to fight Goliath but before the battle has actually taken place. A moment between conscious choice and action. Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist and a prominent architect who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age, credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. Bernini’s David is a life-size marble sculpture, created between 1623-24, located in Galleria Borghese, Rome. This statue represents the biblical David, about to throw a stone at Goliath, which will allow David to behead him. The biggest difference in the two sculptures is the moment represented. Michelangelo chose the moment before the fight while Bernini chose the split second when David is launching the stone from his sling. Bernini’s body is violently twisting bursting with energy while Michelangelo had stored in his figure. Bernini has literally created an event frozen in time during the fight and Michelangelo’s was before the fight. The statues are similar because they both were innovative with respect of the ancient tradition that created works that were perfectly balanced, but not as perfectly evocative. The statues represent the same character, the David who beats Goliath, and they both embody the ideal of male form in a natural setting rather than posed.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Humanism DBQ

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Two portraits can be used as an example to show how the art style in the Renaissance differs from past artwork. “One is from Ballini, Portrait of a Young Man and the other was painted by Raphael, called Portrait of a Young Man With an Apple (Doc. 5).” In Ballini’s work, we see a man staring off to something to the left with a blank expression on his face. He is wearing dark clothes and there is no background behind him. In Raphael’s work however, we see a man holding an apple which rests on his other hand. He has different textured clothes on and he is looking at the painter with a bit more expression to his face. There is also a background in this portrait. There may be some differences in both portraits, like their point of view, what they are doing in the painting, or what the background style is like, but both of these portraits have a major similarity. They both are portraits of a man, which show the concept of humanism and focus on the individual. In both portraits, there's is a good amount of detail on the face and what the man is looking at. This is also seen in a sculpted statue called David, by Michelangelo (Doc. 7).” Michelangelo sculpted David with an excessive amount of detail from his muscular complexion to his serious expression and contrapposto stance. Renaissance artists focused more on the concept of humanism and included it into their works of art by bringing out facial features and expressions, defined human details, and used new art techniques like contrapposto and linear perspective which made Renaissance art differ greatly from past artwork, which featured less humanistic qualities standing…

    • 1221 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Donatello was the greatest Florentine sculptor, before Michelangelo. He was born on 1386 in Florence, Italy. Before he was 20 he was getting commission for his work. He was the son of Niccolo di Betto Bardi. After sculpting for many years he started sculpting creations of his own. Between 1411 and 1413, he sculpted a figure out of marble of St. Mark who was an author. One of his greatest works was a bronze statue. During his final years his lifelong friendship with the Medici family earned him a retirement allowance to live on the rest of his life. He died of unknown causes on December 13, 1466.…

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Donatello’s David differs form Michael Angelo’s in that it is probably a more realistic depiction of what David actually looked like. David was young and inept in comparison to the soldiers who fought in the battle at Jerusalem. That’s why his defeat of Goliath was impressive. Donatello’s sculpture of David is a bronze sculpture of a young boy, he even looks a little feminine, standing on top of Goliaths head with an assured expression on his face. Donatello’s sculptures…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    King David Bernini

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages

    However, the sculptures are drastically different from one another. Each one is unique in its own certain way. Bernini emulated neither Donatello's triumphant boy victor nor Michaelangelo's posturing adolescent. His hero is full-grown and fully engaged-both physically and psychologically-as he takes aim and twists his tensed, muscular body a split second before slinging the stone, grasped in his left hand. David stands alone, but Goliath is simplicity envisioned directly behind the viewer. As a viewer, we are tempted to duck. It is the anticipation of violent action that heightens this confrontation as David's latent power is momentarily arrested. Art of the baroque era is characterized by an emphasis on movement and emotional…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Donatello Research Paper

    • 1695 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Donatello rapidly matured his art and soon began creating his own style. In 1408 he finished the life-size sculpture of David. The figure was made out of marble. The figure follows a Gothic style, popular at the time, with long graceful lines and an expressionless face. The work reflects the influences of sculptors of the time. It's very well executed, but it lacks the emotional style and innovative technique that would mark Donatello’s later work. Originally, the sculpture was intended for placement in the cathedral. It was set up in the town hall as a symbol of defiance of authority to Florentines. Michelangelo’s admiration for Donatello is documented for the time of the marble David by a sketch after Donatello’s David. The statue of David would become the most famous body of work by Donatello. He developed his own style of relief known as schiacciato. This technique involved extremely shallow carving and utilized light and shadow to create the full pictorial scene(web). Observations were made that Donatello refrained from giving his works a high finish ,even at the risk of making them seem less attractive at close range ,in order to preserve the vividness of his “artistic handwriting” (Janson 20; vol.2). The harmony of his work melts as in a “fiery glow”, and his personality grows demon-like into his gigantic proportions out of the sturdy workshop tradition of the middle…

    • 1695 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is regarded as definite step in Renaissance taste is Donatello's statue David. The statue is the first freestanding nude since Roman antiquity. According to an analysis by Professors Lawrence Cunningham and John Reich, Donatello wanted to show the beauty of David's adolescent form wearing only greaves and a shepherd's hat (Cunningham 12).…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Donatello’s and Michelangelo’s Davids were an artistic representation of the influences of both religion and politics. In theses sculpture, the concepts of Christianity and old religious heroes were a significant foundation in their composition. The Florentine political environment, however, was a much larger part of the composition of both sculptures. Close observations of the sculpted faces of Donatello’s and Michelangelo’s Davids each reflect a representation of the Florentine government at the time of their creation.…

    • 1903 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Both visions of David, Donatello's and Michelangelo's, are exceedingly similar in religious context and body construction yet contradictory in numerous aspects. It almost seems like looking at the same person in two different costumes. Both are influenced by Classical Greek sculpture in terms of nudity and contrapposto posture. However, there is a stark difference in the size of the two: Donatello's David stands at 6 feet tall while Michelangelo's David is over twice its size at 14 feet. Another big distinction is in the material and process used in their construction. As stated earlier, Michelangelo showcases the moment before David slays Goliath, where Donatello portrays a scene after the battle. Donatello represented David as a boastful…

    • 161 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Michelangelo's David

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When thinking of sculptures, one of the first that comes to mind is David. This statue was created of marble between 1501 and 1504 and stands over 14 feet high. David is a symbol that represents strength and anger. The statue had intended political connotations for the ruling of the Medici family. Michelangelo used David as model of "heroic courage" to demonstrate that "spiritual strength can be more effective than arms". Michelangelo insisted that David should stand as a symbol of the republic and act as a warning that Florence shall be governed justly and bravely". This was the first time since antiquity that a large nude statue be exhibited in a public place.…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Donatello Art

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The David by Donatello in Museo Nazionale del Bargello. Florence. The height of the bronze statue of David by Donatello is 158 cm. David was the chosen subject of the statue as he had become a symbol of the…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays