<p style="text-align: center"><strong><img class="aligncenter" src="http://www.southallegheny.org/webpages/jbradley/photos/1102243/DavidDonatello.jpg" alt="" width="216" height="404" /></strong><a href="http://www.southallegheny.org/webpages/jbradley/photos/1102243/DavidDonatello.jpg">http://www.southallegheny.org/webpages/jbradley/photos/1102243/DavidDonatello.jpg</a></p>
Sensuous and beautiful, Donatello’s Bronze David had contributed to the rebirth of Humanism during the Renaissance.  Although seemingly overshadowed by Michelangelo’s David, Donatello had undoubtedly prepared the way.  There have been many questions regarding the historical and psychological background for this innovative piece of art in history including David’s beginnings and the message Donatello portrayed in the unique contrapposto.   Donato di Niccolo Bardi, or Donatello, was a brilliant artist whose artistic values were respected and most greatly interpreted by his David, as it was the first, free-standing nude statue of the Renaissance.  Drawing attention to multiple aspects of Humanism into his time and further influencing other great artists, Donatello’s bronze David should be considered favorable to historical art and thus saved for future generations to view and acknowledge.<!--more-->

Donatello had bronze casted and magnificently sculpted with immense detail the well known biblical figure of David.  Many are familiar with the story of David and Goliath from the Old Testament.  As the subject of the sculpture, the story ended with a victorious David as the hero of Israel, where we will find later also symbolizes the modern belief of the Florentine people.  David is acclaimed for his bravery and his faith in God to defeat the giant.  Just moments before killing Goliath with a stone from his sling, David said to him, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD Almighty—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (Harris).  David is sculpted after the death of the monster as he stands confident and relaxed—a style Donatello reintroduced from the Greeks.  Encyclopedia Britannica denotes that this contrapposto, as viewed by the bronze David, provides the viewer a calm resonance of the sculpture as the body rests on one leg, suggesting life.  David has implied both life and death, yet continues to further allude to something beyond that of biblical symbolism.  Donatello’s David nudity and feminine stance implies a certain question of sexuality and is thus questioned to this day.

During this period of Renaissance, Italy flourished with art and an emphasis on “naturalistic depiction, on human proportions and human scale in art, and on the rational presentation of observed spaces” (“The Early”).  “The Early Renaissance” explains much of the historical context of this original piece of art by Donatello.  The Renaissance included many of history’s greatest artists as they centered their paintings and sculptures on the beauty of mankind.  The Renaissance reintroduced the values of antiquity and the arts were greatly praised by all social classes.  However, these magnificent creations were specifically made for the wealthy and powerful patrons along with religious institutions who had commissioned them (“The Early”).  Paintings and sculptures were mainly used for propaganda, immortalization, and also as a visual textbook.  These uses were vital for the recognition of man and ultimately a possible historical reference to the future.

“The Early Renaissance” explains that art was effective for expressing political ideals and a useful tool for propaganda.  Also, by commissioning self-portraits, patrons were able to immortalize themselves, an example of the new attention and self-love for humankind and body that resonated during the Renaissance.  “In a world of widespread illiteracy,” images provided historical teachings for Christians as religion continued to grow and deepen the piety of the era.  This was important for religious institutions as the images conveyed ideas that both unlearned and learned could gain from.  Much of the artwork was effective as the intensity and detail of paintings used in churches evoked emotional appeal to its audience.

Donatello’s David fit it’s time period well as it is a great example of the image of human scale in art form.  Donatello, along with other artists during the Renaissance, was very passionate about studying and reproducing the classical styles of antiquity.  He was successful in producing the first nude statue who poised a contrapposto like that of the Greeks.  Also, Italy continues to be well known for its association with the first and greatest artists of the Renaissance.  The bronze David was one of the many beautiful creations produced in Italy, and of course was also presented in Florence, “the incubator” for all of the Renaissance innovations (“The Early).

Donatello had portrayed his David in such a feminine pose, as if confident in himself and his body.  This can be related to admiration of thyself, which was a dominant theme along with interests in human proportions (“Statue”).  Also, during the Early Renaissance, since there existed a deepening piety in Europe and the religious institutions used their power to commission paintings and sculptures to portray Christian teachings, Donatello had sculpted his depiction of the biblical hero, David.  However, his David was commissioned by a wealthy patron and was placed in the courtyard of Medici Palace.  Having been commissioned by a powerful patron, makes David culturally fit for its time.

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<p style="text-align: center">Works Cited</p>
Bloem, Roderick.  “Michelangelo’s David.”  University of Colorado, Boulder.  Web.  08 April 2011.  &lt;http://vlsi.colorado.edu/~rbloem/david.html&gt;.

I used this to describe Michelangelo’s David to help me compare.

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"Donatello." <em>Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online</em>. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 08 Apr. 2011.  &lt;http://www.britannica.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu&gt;.

I used this reference to describe the sculpture and introduce Donatello.

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Fiero, Gloria. “The Gods of Mesopotamia.” The Humanistic Tradition, book 1.  6th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2011.  Print.

I used this book to describe the historical context of the Early Renaissance.

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Finnan, Vincent.  “The Three Davids: Donatello, Verocchio, and Michelangelo.”  <em>Italian Renaissance Art.Com. </em>Italian Renaissance Art.com 2008-2010.  Web.  08 Apr. 2011.  &lt;http://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Three-Davids.html&gt;.

I used this to compare Michelangelo and Donatello’s Davids.

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Harris, Beth and Stephen Zucker.  “Donatello’s David.”  <em>SmARThistory. </em>Web.  08 Apr. 2011.  &lt;www.smarthistory.org/Donatello.html&gt;.

I used this to talk about the views of then and now along with the biblical reference.

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“Statue of David by Michelangelo.”  <em>Statue.com. </em> 2011.  Web.  08 Apr. 2011.

&lt;http://www.statue.com/statue-of-david.html&gt;.

I also used this to compare Michelangelo’s David to Donatello’s.

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"The Early Renaissance in Italy." <em>Arts and Humanities Through the Eras</em>. Ed. Edward I. Bleiberg, et al. Vol. 4: Renaissance Europe 1300-1600. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 363-376. <em>Gale Virtual Reference Library</em>. Web. 27 Mar. 2011.

&lt;<span style="text-decoration: underline">http://go.galegroup.com.lsproxy.austincc.edu</span>&gt;.

I used this reference to help me describe the historical context of the time period.

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