![]() ![]() He transmits exceptional self-confidence and concentration, both values of the “thinking man”, considered perfection during the Renaissance. The slingshot he carries over his shoulder is almost invisible, emphasizing that David’s victory was one of cleverness, not sheer force. The figure stands with one leg holding its full weight and the other leg forward, causing the figure’s hips and shoulders to rest at opposing angles, giving a slight s-curve to the entire torso. He stands relaxed, but alert, resting on a classical pose known as contrapposto. David is tense: Michelangelo catches him at the apex of his concentration. Michelangelo instead, for the first time ever, chooses to depict David before the battle. Florentine artists like Verrocchio, Ghiberti and Donatello all depicted their own version of David standing over Goliath’s severed head. Traditionally, David had been portrayed after his victory, triumphant over the slain Goliath. David hurls a stone from his sling with all his might and hits Goliath in the center of his forehead: Goliath falls on his face to the ground, and David then cuts off his head. David and Goliath thus confront each other, Goliath with his armor and shield, David armed only with his rock, his sling, his faith in God and his courage. Saul reluctantly agrees and offers his armor, which David declines since it is too large, taking only his sling and five stones from a brook. Only David, a young shepherd, accepts the challenge. Twice a day for 40 days, Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, comes out between the lines and challenges the Israelites to send out a champion of their own to decide the outcome in single combat. Saul and the Israelites are facing the Philistines near the Valley of Elah. The account of the battle between David and Goliath is told in Book 1 Samuel. The Vestry Board had established the religious subject for the statue, but nobody expected such a revolutionary interpretation of the biblical hero. He accepted the challenge with enthusiasm to sculpt a large scale David and worked constantly for over two years to create one of his most breathtaking masterpieces of gleaming white marble. Michelangelo was only 26 years old in 1501, but he was already the most famous and best paid artist in his days. ![]() This block of marble of exceptional dimensions remained therefore neglected for 25 years, lying within the courtyard of the Opera del Duomo (Vestry Board). Both sculptors had in the end rejected an enormous block of marble due to the presence of too many “ taroli”, or imperfections, which may have threatened the stability of such a huge statue. Michelangelo was asked by the consuls of the Board to complete an unfinished project begun in 1464 by Agostino di Duccio and later carried on by Antonio Rossellino in 1475. Originally commissioned by the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral of Florence, it was meant to be one of a series of large statues to be positioned in the niches of the cathedral’s tribunes, way up at about 80mt from the ground. It is a 14.0 ft marble statue depicting the Biblical hero David, represented as a standing male nude. This astonishing Renaissance sculpture was created between 15. At the Accademia Gallery, you can admire from a short distance the perfection of the most famous statue in Florence and, perhaps, in all the world: Michelangelo’s David. “ When all was finished, it cannot be denied that this work has carried off the palm from all other statues, modern or ancient, Greek or Latin no other artwork is equal to it in any respect, with such just proportion, beauty and excellence did Michelagnolo finish it”.īetter than anyone else, Giorgio Vasari introduces in a few words the marvel of one of the greatest masterpieces ever created by mankind.
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