Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was a High
Renaissance architect, painter,
engineer, poet, and a sculptor (Fiero 202). In 1504, Michelangelo
completed one of his most famous sculptures David that was originally intended for a cathedral in Florence.
The seventeen-foot, marble statue represents the biblical hero David, who
chose to fight to save his people from the invasion, right before his battle
with Goliath, but right after his decision to fight. After it was completed, David became a symbol for Florence and was placed it in Palazzo della Signoria, the main square,
where it became a symbol of the struggle against the Medici, the former ruling
family. David is considered the symbol of
the Renaissance because he is the universal man.
PROPORTIONS:
During the Renaissance era, humanism created a huge interest
in the human body and often idealized the figures portrayed in
art. David has the heroic proportions of the
Renaissance ideals of terribilita and virtu. Terribilita is shown through David’s perfect naked, idealized body.
Virtu is shown through his extremely
muscular body, which shows his skill that is being brought into battle and the
confidence of victory. However, his hands are bigger and his arms are much
longer than the normal proportioned person, which allowed Michelangelo to created long clean lines that helped created
the perfect body of David. From the proportions of David’s body, he has the
perfect physical body that the universal man has.
FACIAL EMOTION:
During the Renaissance era, there was a new interest
in individualism. Individualism created an interest in the individual face and
personal emotion. Furthermore, humanism is shown through harmony, balance, and
order. These themes are depicted within David’s facial emotion that brings life to the sculpture. David
looks relaxed and self-contained as he is mentally preparing for
battle. The harmonious composition of the facial emotion, confidence and self-containment made David’s battle look easy. David’s face shows
that he is going to function honorably in the battle while maintain harmony and
order, which is the value of the universal man.
MOVEMENT:
David has little movement expressed in the statue causing it
to stand-alone with no interaction with its surroundings. Furthermore,
Michelangelo uses the popular Renaissance art technique of contraposto to create a more naturalistic feel in the work. This is
done by depicting David with an exaggerated shift of weight to the back leg
while holding the other leg relaxed, which creates a calm position just prior
to the action. Furthermore, the veins are visible in his arms as he clutches a
stone with one hand and holds a slingshot in the other hand that is tossed over
his back, which gives the intent of what he is going to do in battle. The little
movement and the calm position while David is preparing for battle, depicts him as
the Renaissance universal man while he keeps harmony, balance, and order.
