David

(Michelangelo)
(1501 – 1504)
 "David" is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created
between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It
is a 5.17 metre (17 feet) marble statue of a standing male
nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a
favoured subject in the art of Florence.
Originally commissioned as one of a series to be positioned
high up on the facade of Florence Cathedral, the statue was
instead placed in a public square, outside the Palazzo della
Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence, where it
was unveiled on 8 September 1504. Because of the nature of
the hero that it represented, it soon came to symbolise the
defence of civil liberties embodied in the Florentine Republic,
an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more
powerful rival states and by the hegemony of the Medici
family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned
towards Rome.
The statue is now displayed in the Accademia Gallery,
Florence, and a replica stands in its place
 Michelangelo's David differs from previous
representations of the subject in that David is
not depicted with the head of the slain Goliath,
as he is in Donatello's and Verrocchio's statues
of David. According to Helen Gardner David is
depicted before his battle with Goliath.Instead of
being shown victorious over a foe much larger
than he, David looks tense and ready for combat.
His veins bulge out of his lowered right hand and
the twist of his body effectively conveys to the
viewer the feeling that he is in motion, an
impression heighted with contrapposto. The
statue perhaps shows David after he has made
the decision to fight Goliath but before the battle
has actually taken place. It is a representation of
the moment between conscious choice and
conscious action.However, other experts
(including Giuseppe Andreani, the current
director of Accademia Gallery consider the
depiction to represent the moment immediately
after battle, as David serenely contemplates his
victory
Michelangelo's David is a
Renaissance interpretation of a
common ancient Greek theme of
the standing heroic male nude. In
the High Renaissance, contrapposto
poses were thought of as a
distinctive feature of antique
sculpture. In David, the figure
stands with one leg holding its full
weight and the other leg relaxed.
This classic pose causes the
figure’s hips and shoulders to rest
at opposite angles, giving a slight
s-curve to the entire torso. In
addition, the statue faces to the left
while the left arm leans on his left
shoulder with his sling flung down
behind his back.Michelangelo’s
David has become one of the most
recognized pieces of Renaissance
Sculpture, becoming a symbol of
both strength and youthful human
beauty.
The proportions of the David are atypical of
Michelangelo's work; the figure being only seven and a
half heads tall as opposed to more heroic proportions
commonly used by Michelangelo. The hands and feet are
also sculpted particularly large. Another theory is that in
the story, David was only thirteen or fourteen years old
when he encountered Goliath, therefore the over large
hands and feet would be intended to portray an
adolescent male not fully grown. Others suggest the head
and hands were created larger to represent thinking with
the brain and working with the hands, while the genitals
were created smaller to imply that David was not allowing
himself to make decisions with pleasure in mind. It is said
that his right hand is larger than his left hand because he
had the "right hand" of God while defeating Goliath. It is
also said that it is bigger because of balance issues so the
statue would not fall over.