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Comparison of Three Sculptures

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Comparison of Three Sculptures

The sculptures of David, the slayer of Goliath, are all highly revered sculptures. The three sculptures from Michelangelo, Bernini, and Donatello all carry the same meaning, which is that David was an important symbol for freedom from tyranny. The way that each artist conveyed their message was very different from the others.

Michelangelo’s David is based on the time just prior to battle with Goliath, and Donatello’s was just after the battle. There are similarities these two some of it may be that they are both from the Renaissance era. Both positioned in a manner that they have a curved form to them, and they are both nude. These are a common style in this period of art and relates to the way that the human body was perceived at the time. Michelangelo depicted David larger than life and gave him the sculptured look of the Greek gods. The way he is sculptured gives him a muscular and mature look. Donatello showed David as an adolescent that was still developing into his role. Bernini takes a different approach to the same idea, but he puts David in battle, in the midst of the swing that takes Goliath down. He is taking action there is not any thought of what is coming, nor is he standing confident of from his accomplishment that he has already done. The pose that Bernini has David in shows how David is preparing to throw the stone at Goliath, showing the force that the stone has and the amount of energy that David had. In this period of art, the Baroque, the way people looked at the human body was different. Bernini clothed David in his sculpture; this helped the viewer to focus on the actions of David.

The three sculptures of David are revered as works of art to this day. All three of the artist had the same message they were trying to convey when David was sculpted, he was a symbol of freedom. They each just had their own way of expressing the message.

References
Frank, P. (2011). Artforms (10th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Sayre, H. M. (2010). The World of Art (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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