The Hero David:
Donatello's Bronze David and Michelangelo's Marble David
Created an estimated seventy years apart, Donatello and Michelangelo were commissioned to sculpt images of the hero David. While both became important cultural symbols of Florence in the Renaissance, they differ in symbolism and presentation.
Considered to be the first free-standing nude statue since Antiquity, Donatello was commissioned to create a sculpture of the Hero David by the patriarch of the powerful Medici family, Cosimo de'Medici. Placed in the Medici's Palazzo courtyard in Florence, the exact date of completion is not known, but the five foot bronze statute is estimated to have been completed around 1430. Beyond the importance of Dontello's creation as a nude in bronze, the use of David as a symbol of the Medici family is a significant cultural reference of the time. The early renaissance saw Florence rising out of the shadow of the great city states of Milan and Rome. To represent themselves as an underdog rising to great provenance, Florence considered themselves the David against the Goliath of Milan. This symbolism was grasped by the powerful Medici family. The Medici family considered themselves the symbol of Florence's rising power. Hence they commissioned a statute of David to reflect this. Presented in a contrapposto stance, this David shows a cocky self-assured arrogance as he strides atop the severed head of the vanquished Golaith.
As we fast-forward from the early to the late Renaissance we see a different yet similar Florence. Florence of the early sixteenth century was still suffering from an inferiority complex. Although a significant and wealthy powerhouse of a city-state, Florence was under the shadow of its bigger brother Rome. Originally commissioned as just one of several Saints to stand atop the Florence Cathedral, at over 17 feet, Michelangelo in 1504 completed a monster of a marble statute which was too large to stand on the buttresses. Instead it was placed in a less pious, albeit an equally prestigious location outside the city hall. The cultural references of Michelangelo's David were clear. Again presented in a contrapposta presentation, but this time before the fight with Goliath, our hero was placed with his eyes pointed towards Rome. The symbolism was clear, that Florence was placing itself, as David was against the mighty Goliath, in defiance of Rome: Ready to battle to the death.
