Similarities Between David And Goliath

Throughout the course of time, the Old Testament story of David has found its way into the many hands of sculptors across the world. In their way, these artists depicted the body of David, shaping and sculpting him into a symbolic figure of their time. The bible 's story of David and Goliath was a notable symbol of the light overcoming the darkness that influenced numerous years of commissioned art in the city of Florence Italy. The real question is why were there so many sculpture representations of David throughout the history of art? In Book 1 Samuel of the Bible, the chronicle of the battle between David and Goliath is told. It begins with Saul and his men, the Israelites, are challenging the Philistines near the Valley of Elah. The days …show more content…
The body was such as a path to corruption, so it was not something to celebrate. In the movement of the early Italian Renaissance, Donatello made the first free-standing nude sculpture since classical antiquity. This was quite an achievement for sculptor Donatello because it was the return to ancient Greece and Rome 's love of the body and the sculpture itself showed the respect for the body. The position of David is the position of contrapasso; it is a relaxed figure with a sense of movement. In the Renaissance, this sculpture looked remarkably alive in comparison to medieval sculpture. It is also referencing classical nature by the use of bronze, principally copper, and tin to give it strength. The work is hollow and was made through a technique called lost-wax casting. The ancient Romans and ancient Greeks employed this technique and also had been used during the medieval period but not at this scale. It was the early Renaissance that artist was beginning to re-explore how to create a bronze sculpture this large. David is very young, and it is hard not to see sensuality in the way he puts his hand on his hip and looks down. Although he is nude, he is wearing a pair of boots and a loose hat, which gives him a sense of eroticism. David is standing on the now severed Goliath, apparently an aftermath of the battle. His right-hand clenches Goliath 's sword, in fact, it is the sword he used to cut off the Giants ' head. Because David is standing on the head, it pushes his leg up, and one of the wings is riding up his inner thigh. The wing might be possibly a little too high, creating an overt sexuality on the piece. This matter is at odds with the political symbolism of this sculpture. It was a sculpture that was crucial to the city of Florence, yet it has an intimate quality to it. David was seen in the Medici palace in the 1460 's and could be seen from the street. To the Florentine