• Home Page
  • Compare And Contrast Michelangelo And Bernini's David

Compare And Contrast Michelangelo And Bernini's David

Improved Essays
Show More
Renaissance which basically means rebirth, began approximately around the 1400’s. Throughout this era society took very high interest in the history of their culture. Greek and Rome were of those whom did it the most. Artists Donatello and Michelangelo used characters from the biblical times, which is a prime example of a what defines a Renaissance artist. As the definition of Renaissance artist states “when scholars and artists began to investigate what they believed to be a revival of classical learning”, this was a very religious era for both Donatello and Michelangelo. Donatello’s art of David created around 1440, shows the result of when David defeated Goliath with the stone he struck him with. Michelangelo’s piece was created during …show more content…
To begin, Bernini’s piece was created during the Italian Baroque period, contrasting from Michelangelo’s High Renaissance period, and Donatello’s Early Renaissance period. Michelangelo and Bernini both used marble, contrasting from Donatello using bronze. Michelangelo and Donatello have a nude David, compared to Bernini’s David whom is wearing a flowing robe. Both Michelangelo and Donatello’s David are in a contrapposto pose compared to Bernini’s action pose. Donatello and Bernini’s David’s are supposed to be life size compared to the 17 feet tall piece by Michelangelo. Bernini and Michelangelo seem to have used a more mature David compared to the young David by Donatello. All pieces of art represent David in the fight of …show more content…
This as previously mentioned led the way for the Renaissance period to actually begin. The artistic society began to realize the importance of realism in art. The peak of the High Renaissance period was with Michelangelo’s work of David. This showed society a bigger and more vivid representation of David. This David was not only older, but seemed to be more relaxed by his form. It seems this era was concentrated more on perfectionism. Michelangelo wanted to empathize David’s dedication before the fight making it a masterpiece. In the Baroque period, Art was moving more towards using the human figure as a form of expression. Bernini, being a fan of Michelangelo, recreated David with more expression and activeness. This makes the observer feel more in touch with the emotional side of the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Creation Of Polykleitos Doryphoros Vs. Donatello's David
    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Creation Of Polykleitos Doryphoros Vs. Donatello's David

    The artist was commissioned by the Medici family in the 1440s to create a sculpture that was to be placed in the courtyard of the family’s private palace. Medicis were the forerunners of the Florentine Republic’s trendsetters. The family wanted the artwork as a symbol of their city. They did not want it to be like any other statue of David before, and Donatello delivered. His David is a bronze sculpture of the Biblical hero David, from the book of Samuel in the Old Testament. Typically, a hero who slew a giant such as David would be depicted as a masculine and muscular man similar to Doryphoros. However, Donatello created a soft, youthful, and almost feminine version of David that no one of his time had yet imagined. The figure reflects something of more similarity to the Kritios Boy than to Doryphoros. Donatello’s David flaunted long curly hair and flower-lined hat. While one hand grasped the sword used to slay the giant, the other rested casually upon his hip, a common stance of female statues of the time. Likewise, while one foot was placed on the severed head of Goliath, the other was caressed by the feather of a helmet and pointed suggestively up his leg to his groin. Though David was usually depicted as a king, in this piece of artwork Donatello went back to an earlier stage of David’s life.…

    • 1201 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    What Is The Renaissance Dbq Essay
    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What Is The Renaissance Dbq Essay

    Individualism was absent in the art of the Middle Ages because the aspect of religion overpowered the importance of unique characteristics. Many Renaissance works contained groups of people who were each created with individual physical characteristics and emotions. In Document 2, Jacob Burckhardt, historian and discoverer of the term “Renaissance,” writes about the importance of the era and how it arose the “all-sided man.” He described that this age developed the “highest individual” and created “new and perfect works.” The idea of this era was to identify the profound artists who arose to perfect the classical arts and to encompass innovative styles and techniques in which are still primarily used today. Understanding that they no longer were subject to creating artwork for the churches, many artists began painting self- portraits and even sculpting a man out of marble. Michelangelo’s famous David was also an example of individualism as it depicted the perfect body and perfect mind. As people became more aware of this philosophy, they were able to become more aware as themselves as…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Michelangelo Statue Of David Analysis
    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Michelangelo Statue Of David Analysis

    Which many people saw as one of the greatest masterpieces ever created by mankind. “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 Michelangelo finish it” stated Giorgio Vasari describing David. Even though Michelangelo was only twenty-six years old in 1501, he was already the most famous and best-paid artist in his days. He enthusiastically took over the job of sculpting the statue of David, and worked constantly for over to years to transform a piece of marble into a breathtaking, dominate figure. The most prevalent purpose behind this sculpture was to depict the biblical hero David, represented as a standing male nude. Many Florentine artists during this time had interpreted their own version of David standing over Goliath’s severed head. Michelangelo, however, portrayed a non-traditional David and created a sculpture that depicts David before the battle. David is tense: Michelangelo catches him at the apex of his concentration. He stands relaxed, but alert, resting on a classical pose known as contrapposto. 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…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Donatello Statue Of David Analysis
    • 173 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Donatello Statue Of David Analysis

    The statue of David created by Donatello is one of the most appreciable statues in the Renaissance. This statue has a story behind it, the story is the Israelites and the Philistines are in battle, and the Philistines strongest warrior decides to fight the Israelites best man, this battle would determine what side would win. David a shepherd boy decided to challenge this man, Davis is untrained and too young to be a soldier, but builds strength and hits the enemy with the stone knocking him to the floor, grabs the enemy’s sword and cuts his head off. The influence of humanism on the statue of David is how David is portrayed is how David is standing on the head of his enemy, which in humanism shows victory and strength. His naked body portrays…

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    The Renaissance Period
    • 2268 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The Renaissance Period

    The Renaissance was wealthy of people with big names in art. This particular era made art possible, this art was different from any other era. It allowed them to develop and mature far beyond the traditional and religious subjects of matter and imitate real human emotions that looked incredibly realistic. The renaissance acknowledgment of human form of expression and scientific study such as Paintings, sculpting techniques help impact modern day society as we know it. These amazing and talented Artists began using new strategies to make they 're paintings more superior and have realistic sense to it. A lot of the known artists and masterpieces were made in the Renaissance period. The Renaissance painters needed art that demonstrated joy in human beauty and life’s pleasures. Renaissance art in more similar than the speciality of the middle ages. Renaissance artists studied point of view, or the distinctions in the way things look when they are near to something or far away. The artists painted in a manner that demonstrated these distinctions. Leonardo was…

    • 2268 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Comparison Of Michelangelo Vs. Donatello's David
    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Comparison Of Michelangelo Vs. Donatello's David

    Michelangelo and Donatello are two of the world’s most renowned artist and their sculptures both titled “David” are famous and frequently-discussed works of Italian renaissance art. Although both of these sculptures are named the same they’re far from being just that. Each artist created their own unique version of their character.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Michelangelo's David Analysis
    • 104 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Michelangelo's David Analysis

    Viewed as one of the world’s most revolutionary sculptures, Michelangelo’s David (Fig. 2) was created between 1501 and 1504 during the Renaissance era. Unlike other Florentine artists whom represented David after his triumphant battle against Goliath, Michelangelo chose to portray David before the battle in a critical moment of concentration. Regardless of intention, Michelangelo depicted David with an over-proportioned head and intensified detail in his right hand. Some interpretations imply that Michelangelo utilised these details to emphasise David’s focus, whilst others suggest that these parts of the sculpture were accentuated in order to be visible in view of the cathedral roof line in Florence.…

    • 104 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Why Is Michelangelo's David Important
    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Why Is Michelangelo's David Important

    Michelangelo’s David is a great example artists were influenced by ancient Greece and Rome art, the sculpture is well proportioned, the athletic body of David and the realistic look. His sculptures reveals the beauty of human body, which is a characteristic expression of Humanism during the High Renaissance period. At that time, people were just extricate from the Middle Ages, which were often referred to as the “Dark Ages”. People started to recognizing the power of human, therefore, praise the beauty of human body is a kind of “renaissance” for ancient Greed art. The importance of human, the power of human, the liberation of ideology were all reflected on the art works people created at that time.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Similarities Between David And Goliath
    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Similarities Between David And Goliath

    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…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    The Elements Of Humanism In Michelangelo's David
    • 1461 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Elements Of Humanism In Michelangelo's David

    Today, many view man as corrupt and not in control of his own destiny. One of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance period, Michelangelo, incorporated mental insight, realism and passion in his work. One of Michelangelo’s sculptures rejects many modern misconceptions of men. The sculpture, David, is the story of a young boy who chose to fight a stronger opponent in order to save his people. While wearing no armor, he defeated Goliath using his bravery and skill. Compared to artwork during medieval times, David is a significant change. Michelangelo's David reveals elements of beauty and heroism.…

    • 1461 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    David And Ghirlandaio
    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages

    David And Ghirlandaio

    Donatello’s bronze version is the most controversial. The feminine stance alone is seen by some critics as “sexually suggestive”(3). That being said it can be argued that although his stance could be perceived as feminine, it could be because the other takes of “David” show a much older and more physically developed man. Donatello’s bronze David depicts more accurate depiction from the bible, which is that David was not a man, but a young boy. This would explain the “floaty” stance and the coy smile, that a young cocky boy would have. This can lead us to believe that Donatello did not want to the people view this David as a god or hero, rather he wanted to make a piece of amazing art which would be accurate to the bible story. On the flip side, there is Ghirlandaio’s David. Although His David has a similar stance to Donatello’s, it is not to be viewed in the same manner. His David looks older and has the build of a gown man. Ghirlandaio’s David is to viewed as a Religious and civic symbol. The reason it is viewed as such is because if the inscription, which “proclaims the civic, no less than the religious, import of the monument” (5) Because if the inscription its clear that Ghirlandaio wanted this David to be a symbol. The David is meant to depict that “He is first of all a prophet…of christ’s coming. He is also a civic…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    How Did Humanism Affected The Spent During The Renaissance?
    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Did Humanism Affected The Spent During The Renaissance?

    The Renaissance is a time period in which much of the European countries, especially Italy, changed drastically. It began after the Middle Ages and impacted Italy’s social, economic, and political customs. These changes were driven by a new idea in philosophy. Humanism was this new idea in which people began to primarily focus on individualism. This idea inspired many artists during the fifteen century and as a result much of the paintings and sculptures appeared more realistic and in proportion to real life humans. Artists were also inspired by the Greeks and Romans and this is seen throughout the architecture and sculptures. With inspiration from the Greeks, Italian sculptors began to create art pieces that depicted men and biblical figures in a more realistic way. A great example of how humanism impacted the sculptures made during the…

    • 538 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Religion In The Middle Ages
    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Religion In The Middle Ages

    Throughout the Renaissance, artists opted away from religious ideals their predecessors throughout the Middle Ages had emphasized, revamping concepts of the individual in their works. In particular, they focused on realistic depiction of new subject matters, deliberate creation using artistic abilities, and importance of human ideals.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Gianlorenzo Bernini's David Analysis
    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gianlorenzo Bernini's David Analysis

    These great patrons of art and the most powerful political family commissioned Donatello’s David, Michelangelo’ s David, and Bernini’s David. The Donatello david was the first of its kind to be commissioned and was the first standing nude in the history of art since ancient times. Donatello’s david is portrayed as an older warrior that is completely dressed to show that Florence was willing to fight for their freedom. Florence was a source for finance and trade but it was somewhat small compared to Rome or other city states. This city eventually adopted David. When David killed Goliath, it become a symbol of the city. Unlike Donatello’s david, Bernini’s version has a lighter style of armor to it. The subject of David was mostly only popular in the baroque era in Rome so that they could potentially compete against renaissance artists. In the baroque era, artists typically only present David in two different ways. Bernini’ s creation has a classical and idealized feel to it but Caravaggio painting is more gritty and lack of detail. Bernini gives the audience an exciting moment as David is about to throw a stone with all his strength straight towards…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Comparison Of Donatello, Verrocchio, And Michelangelo
    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Comparison Of Donatello, Verrocchio, And Michelangelo

    The statue of David has inspired many renowned artists throughout art history maintaining the continuity of the story of David and Goliath. Four of such artists are Donatello, Verrocchio, and Michelangelo during the Renaissance period; and Bernini in the Baroque period. Each transformation of David is rendered in a distinctly different sculpture of the same subject reflecting each of the artist’s own style and time period in comparison.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2023 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings