Donatello

’s David Essay, Research Paper

Donatello?s David

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Donatello was one of the most important and influential artists of the fifteenth century. As a master artist, he sculpted some of the most beautiful pieces of the Italian Renaissance. His innovations impacted many artists of his time, and set the standard for centuries of sculptors to follow. Donatello?s style is clearly defined and easily recognized in nearly all of his pieces. An exception is the bronze, David, dated 1425-1430. David strays from the traditional style of Donatello with reference to style, form, and medium. Historians speculate on the reasons for this breakthrough with regards to Donatello?s philosophies and life experiences, questioning his brief return to the classical style, as well as the year of the sculpture?s creation.

As one of the most brilliant and representative figures of the Italian Renaissance, Donatello was able to give form to his intellectual aspirations and achievements. He was gifted in depicting elements of both the antique and the modern sentiment, and able to blend them seamlessly in his work. He had an appreciation of life with robust self-reliance, and respect for the inner workings of the soul. Donatello worked exceptionally with most any medium. He cast sculptures in bronze, clay, and marble with equal genius. His originality in conception, and complete break from tradition offset his work from that of any other artist of his time. His strong sense of independence opened the door for both painters and sculptors in Florence, promoting his vision of freedom from his predecessors? prescribed rules. The embrace of Donatello?s philosophy by artists of the fifteenth century resulted in a permanent change in Italian art. “So completely Donatellesque did Italian art become that it is impossible to conceive what direction it would have taken without his overwhelming influence, ?and that every great Master of our own day consciously or unconsciously based his art upon that of Donatello” (Cruttwell 3). Donatello rapidly matured as an artist and was able to present humanity, in its crudest form of existence, to the world. Beauty and form seemed to have little interest to Donatello, but rather the character and emotion of the subject (Janson 413). Straying from his earlier classical works, Donatello?s breakthrough David exemplifies his ability to cast bronze into a beautiful, yet clearly non-traditional form.

At a glance, the sculpture has a fairly simple description. The youth figure, David, is proportioned as a boy of fifteen might be. His arms are slightly long for his body, and the muscles not as developed as those of a man. His waist is small, and the form of his ribs is sculpted enough to know that he is lacking muscle definition. His stomach seems to pop out a little bit, perhaps suggesting the “baby fat” that he has yet to work off. He has one hand resting limply on his hip, while his other rests on a sword handle. His hair is shoulder length and slightly untamed, while a hat rests slightly tilted atop his head. His head is tilted slightly downward, and a slight upward bend in his lip looks almost like a building smile. One leg is straight, supporting his weight, while the other is propped on the head of the slain Goliath. The bends of his limbs are very natural, and the attention to detail exemplifies Donatello?s understanding of human anatomy. A closer look at the sculpture, however, reveals the details that set it apart from other works of the master.

Donatello, considered a master of the nude, cared little to produce them in his sculptures. David, an exception to his previous work, would be completely naked if not for his boots and hat. A hint of romantic charm lies in the figure?s hat. A broad brim garlanded with bay leaves, the hat throws David?s face into a deep shadow and seems to suggest the simple life of a shepherd. The whole pose of David is inert, tame and non-threatening, despite the severed head beneath his left foot. David himself seems to be modeled after a boy who developed his stomach more than his muscles (Grassi 72). Even though David has been captured after the act of slaying Goliath, visually he seems barely strong enough to lift the sword at his side. His whole body is a little swollen and his toes are bent as if his shoes are putting pressure on them. The sword he holds in his right hand seems to be resting in a very loose grip, rather than being held in place. David stands on a circular garland with one foot on Goliath?s helmeted, severed head. Goliath?s helmet, in part, is a relief of a scene representing Cupid and Psysche drawn in a chariot by the Loves (Janson 87). Some scholars speculate that Donatello?s composition of David influenced Ghiberti?s statuette of Samson, as they both have the same lithe body stance and similar leg positioning (Janson 87). “Donatello?s David is a sculpture whose figure is so natural in its vivacity, and in the softness of the flesh, that is seems to be the artificers as though it must be cast from life (Cruttwell 84).

During the Italian Renaissance, Donatello was considered more of a modern artist, but his David has a very classical style. “My own impression is that it was executed soon after the Roman visit, since it shows, in spite of certain realisms in the treatment, a strong impression of antique sculpture” (Cruttwell 83). David is unlike most of D