Preview

Comparison Of Three Sculptures

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
481 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparison Of Three Sculptures
CheckPoint: Comparison of Three Sculptures
Brianna Setzer
Art/101
June 20, 2014
Kristy Yau
CheckPoint: Comparison of Three Sculptures Learning that there were actually different versions of David came as a surprise to me. I am not a fan of art and never expected to be interested in learning about sculpture. The three artists featured in this checkpoint all have a different styles for this same sculpture. I will cover each in an order that seems more logical because in a sense, I believe that the three David sculptures show different points in the war. Michelangelo’s David shows David in a mostly relaxed stance. There is great detail to his muscles and body structure. Most of his weight is on one leg and he seems to be focusing to his left as if he sees Goliath in the distance. It looks like this sculpture is to represent the moments before he attacks Goliath. The slingshot is over his shoulder and not yet in use. The hand holding the rock does look a little tense. Michelangelo sculpted a very masculine version of David and shows that he has a good understanding of how the human body functions. Bernini’s David is in a very tense stance. You can see that he is in the midst of an attack. The sling shot is ready to go. The concentration on David’s face is clear, the use of the muscle groups needed to use the sling shot are pretty clear as you can see muscles in his legs and arms flexing. One difference in this version versus Michelangelo’s version is size. Bernini used a realistic size instead of a superhuman size. Another difference in this version is that it is a bit more modest, you can see that David is nude but his genitalia is covered by cloth. Donatello’s David is very different from the Michelangelo and Bernini versions. In this version, the war is already over. David is standing completely relaxed with one leg propped up on Goliaths head. This sculpture is completely hollow and made mostly out of bronze. This version of



References: Khan Academy . (n.d). Retrieved from http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Donatello.html Khan Academy . (n.d). Retrieved from http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Michelangelo-David.html Khan Academy . (n.d). Retrieved from http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Bernini-David.html

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    3. Ada Cohen and Steven E. Kangas, Assyrian reliefs from the palace of Ashurnasirpal II: a cultural biography, 2010, 160…

    • 1576 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Silver plate of the Battle of David and Goliath is from the Byzantine art period. The Byzantine plate was created in 629 to 630. Within the Byzantine Empire, it shared Roman legal and political traditions, customary Greek culture, and Christianity. This stunning plate is the major plate of the set of nine; it displays the scene of the King David’s life in the Old Testament. The artist interpretation will be examined. This study of plate will trace the subject matter of iconography, function and composition of the work and style.…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dutch Republic DBQ

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Humanism, during the Renaissance period not only involved the study of ancient culture, but it also instilled a sense of respect towards human beings. Many artists at the time focused on the beauty and elegance of the human body. One of these artists was Michelangelo, a sculptor and painter. One of his most famous pieces of work was “David”, a 17 foot tall statue of a man. Michelangelo focused on making the statue as realistic as possible, in order to capture said elegance and beauty. Also, due to the context of the statue being directly after David had slain the goliath, Michelangelo chose “David” to be in a victorious pose. This…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    research paper

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I am comparing Bernini’s David of the Baroque era and Michelangelo’s David from the Italian Renaissance. Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time. He was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance. Michelangelo’s David was a masterpiece sculpture, created between 1501 – 1504 that is a marble statue, of a standing male nude. The 17 foot statue was placed in Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. The statue represents a Biblical hero named David, after he made his decision to fight Goliath but before the battle has actually taken place. A moment between conscious choice and action. Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist and a prominent architect who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age, credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. Bernini’s David is a life-size marble sculpture, created between 1623-24, located in Galleria Borghese, Rome. This statue represents the biblical David, about to throw a stone at Goliath, which will allow David to behead him. The biggest difference in the two sculptures is the moment represented. Michelangelo chose the moment before the fight while Bernini chose the split second when David is launching the stone from his sling. Bernini’s body is violently twisting bursting with energy while Michelangelo had stored in his figure. Bernini has literally created an event frozen in time during the fight and Michelangelo’s was before the fight. The statues are similar because they both were innovative with respect of the ancient tradition that created works that were perfectly balanced, but not as perfectly evocative. The statues represent the same character, the David who beats Goliath, and they both embody the ideal of male form in a natural setting rather than posed.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The biggest difference between the two is the variation of the medium. Michelangelo David uses the white marble, and Verrocchio uses bronze. Michelangelo had a deep understanding of the complexity of the human anatomy. Therefore, he was able to make it look anatomically correct. The detail in the body of Michelangelo’s David further shows his knowledge in human anatomy. He details the veins on the hands and adds depth in the pupils of the eyes to make the piece look realistic(Italian Renaissance5). He is able to show the muscular structure of David allowing the sculpture to look even more human. Verrocchio’s David, however, used bronze to capture the image of David. “To see first Donatello’s, then Verrocchio’s, then Michelangelo’s, one has a sense of the artistic tradition passed down through generations… Each artist tries his hand at the subject of his predecessor, simultaneously paying homage and trying to outdo the past master” (Charney2). Verrocchio is using bronze and trying to take his own spin on the works of Donatello's David. Verrocchio’s David differs from both of the others though, because his is clothed. Michelangelo challenges both Verrocchio and Donatello's skill thus, the use of marble, which was his primary medium. “The model for the statue was a young artist from Verrocchio's studio, Leonardo da Vinci” (Vincent Finnan). This technique is different because he is the only one of the three artist to use a live model according to legend. The techniques used by Michelangelo and Verrocchio allowed them to add more beauty to each of their…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    midterm

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Ruben’s work is by far the most colorful and vibrant of the nine pieces selected. It is most similar to Michelangelo’s painting (9). Showing David about to decapitate a defeated Goliath. Ruben’s Goliath is not nearly as daunting inn size as Michelangelo’s. David is stepping on the head of Goliath after stoning him from his sling and preparing to behead him. This piece has a lot of movement and compares only to Bernini’s on that level in my opinion. The angelic colorful background is unlike any of the other pieces.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Donatello’s David differs form Michael Angelo’s in that it is probably a more realistic depiction of what David actually looked like. David was young and inept in comparison to the soldiers who fought in the battle at Jerusalem. That’s why his defeat of Goliath was impressive. Donatello’s sculpture of David is a bronze sculpture of a young boy, he even looks a little feminine, standing on top of Goliaths head with an assured expression on his face. Donatello’s sculptures…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He had just finished Pluto and Proserpine and started working on Apollo and Daphne while the work on Neptune and Triton was still in progress. Soon after, the creation of the statue of David followed. All of these sculptures share certain elements and they all have the same effect on its viewers that creates the impression of movement and a continuous narrative. It is in the way that Bernini finds the exact appropriate moment in motion and the way in which he portrays the bodies with anatomical precision which tells the viewer exactly what movement follows so that he cannot help but imagine it happening.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Renaissance Art Influence

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Therefore, “David,” is a fit symbol of courage and civic duty to guard the city. Standing 13’5″ tall, the double life-sized David is depicted patiently waiting for battle, prepped with slingshot in one hand and stone in the other. Michelangelo, in his mid twenties, carved the David after he had already carved the Pieta in Rome. He carved this sculpture from a huge block of marble that had been abandoned decades earlier by another sculptor: Michelangelo took on the challenge of living up to Donatello and other precursors who had sculpted the same heroic figure. Instead of creating David to look relaxed and confident after his victory, Michelangelo's David looks tense and ready for combat. His brow is furrowed, the tendons in his neck are taut, as are the muscles in his nose and lips, and his eyes are focused on something in the distance. Despite this mental concentration, he stands in a relaxed “contrapposto” position, with his sling casually thrown over his left shoulder. This combination of intense expression and calm pose is intended to capture the short period between the decision to fight and the fight itself. The statues hands and head appear to be disproportionally large for his body, possibly because they were deemed more visually important for viewers who would see the statue high up…

    • 1347 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This statue in particular portrays different examples of humanism. The statue of David originated from a biblical story of David and Goliath; he is considered a hero and champion. It was his greatest victory and an ideal situation for a human. Therefore the sculptor, Michelangelo depicts David in the most idealistic form of a human; where he represents a strong being, exuding concentration and self-confidence. Michelangelo sculpted what would be considered the perfection of a human and this was largely attributed his own study of the human form. Giorgio Vasari, from his Lives of the most excellent painters, sculptors and architects, states “For in it may be seen most beautiful contours of legs, with attachments of limbs and slender outlines of flanks that are divine; nor has there ever been seen a pose so easy, or any grace to equal that in this work, or feet, hands and head so well in accord, one member with another, in harmony, design, and excellence of artistry”. (Michelangelo's…

    • 852 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Donatello Research Paper

    • 1695 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Donatello rapidly matured his art and soon began creating his own style. In 1408 he finished the life-size sculpture of David. The figure was made out of marble. The figure follows a Gothic style, popular at the time, with long graceful lines and an expressionless face. The work reflects the influences of sculptors of the time. It's very well executed, but it lacks the emotional style and innovative technique that would mark Donatello’s later work. Originally, the sculpture was intended for placement in the cathedral. It was set up in the town hall as a symbol of defiance of authority to Florentines. Michelangelo’s admiration for Donatello is documented for the time of the marble David by a sketch after Donatello’s David. The statue of David would become the most famous body of work by Donatello. He developed his own style of relief known as schiacciato. This technique involved extremely shallow carving and utilized light and shadow to create the full pictorial scene(web). Observations were made that Donatello refrained from giving his works a high finish ,even at the risk of making them seem less attractive at close range ,in order to preserve the vividness of his “artistic handwriting” (Janson 20; vol.2). The harmony of his work melts as in a “fiery glow”, and his personality grows demon-like into his gigantic proportions out of the sturdy workshop tradition of the middle…

    • 1695 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is regarded as definite step in Renaissance taste is Donatello's statue David. The statue is the first freestanding nude since Roman antiquity. According to an analysis by Professors Lawrence Cunningham and John Reich, Donatello wanted to show the beauty of David's adolescent form wearing only greaves and a shepherd's hat (Cunningham 12).…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    lot of artists from different periods depicts many different story of David’s life. David become…

    • 1250 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Michelangelo's David

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Michelangelo's David is based on the artistic discipline of disegno. It is said that under this discipline, sculpture is considered to be the finest form of art because of how it mimics divine creation. Michelangelo worked under the premise that the image of David was already in the block of marble he was working on, in much the same way that the human soul is thought to be found within the physical body (Michelangelo's David).…

    • 779 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first glance, I instantly recognized this work to be a depiction of David and Goliath. Since we had previously discussed similar works in class, this particular scene was very interesting to me.…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays