The three “Davids” by these artists represent the beginning, height and ending of the Italian Renaissance, and three very different views on man’s interaction with God.
 |
| Donatello worked on the "David" between 1430 and 1432; it currently resides at the Bargello Palace and Museum in Florence, Italy. |
If you were in Ren Art Hist 101, the standard interpretation you would get for Donatello's “David,” is that it’s a homo-erotic work: young David is pubescent and the long curling feather from Goliath's helmet (at David's feet) goes up the back of his right leg in an erotic gesture… and that would pretty much be it. But I would like to suggest, that Donatello chose a young David to emphasize that David was too young to have accomplished this “miracle” on his own: it was the Holy Spirit inspiring him to take the challenge and slay the giant Goliath, using the shepherd boy as a passive vessel and not an active participant in Goliath’s downfall. To support this, the huge sword in his hand represents the Sword of Truth from Revelations.
 |
| Probably the best known work of art of the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo completed the work in 1504. |
By comparison, Michelangelo's "David" is in his mid to late twenties, fully developed in his masculinity and poised just before the throwing of the stone. If you were still in that same Ren Art Hist 101 class, the standard interpretation would be that it’s symbolically depicting the Italian city state of Florence—Michelangelo’s birthplace—who defeated her Goliath enemies; while I don’t doubt this historical interpretation, I do think we can add another layer of experience to this masterpiece.
The body is perfectly proportioned, except for the right hand. One art historian’s research indicates that the right hand is larger than the rest of the body symbolizing that—for Michelangelo—Goliath falls by the hand of David, not the Sword of Truth, or the Holy Spirit, as in Donatello’s. The moment that Michelangelo has chosen to depict differs with Donatello’s moment of triumph and victory; Michelangelo wants to present David in all his youthful strength, confident that there will be victory, although that victory has not yet been obtained.
Yet there is an additional facet to this sculpture: the small stump on David’s right. Art Historians have never commented on this beyond a sign of Classical influences that Michelangelo was imitating, but Michelangelo was too good to imitate anyone. This stump simultaneously represents the tree in Eden, the shoot from the stem of Jesse, and the foreshadowing of Christ’s Cross; in other words, this stump symbolizes that David slays Goliath because it is his destiny (in God's economy of salvation) for David to do so.
 |
| Bernini's 1623 marble statue of "David" resides in Rome. |
Incorporating Michelangelo’s youthfulness into his own "David," Bernini also critiques Donatello’s use of David as a empty vessel for the Holy Spirit. Bernini’s “David” (click here for a link to view the sculpture in 3-D and scroll down) is responding to the Holy Spirit and with his will united to God’s will and as God’s instrument, David slays Goliath by the power of the Holy Spirit symbolized by the wind enrapturing him in God’s power (not in the Protestant sense of “rapture,” rather, like the foreshadowing of his “The Ecstasy of Teresa”).
 |
| Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Theresa in the Cornaro Chapel demonstrates God's messenger, the Angel with the arrow, overwhelming the Saint with God's Grace. |
It’s not that Bernini’s, David is only wearing half his clothes, or that the artist shied away from displaying the Old Testament hero in the “heroic nude” (as some art historians say) as Donatello and Michelangelo, rather, it’s more like Joseph and his coat of many colors: David is clothed in righteousness, and by showing that David removed his armor shows his closeness to the Spirit of God. The harp—usually associated with David, the writer of many Psalms—symbolizes a heart that cries out to God, for to “make music on the ten stringed lyre and harp” means to sing praises to God and worship Him. So, for Bernini, David overcomes Goliath not as an empty vessel, nor because it is his destiny, but because he has responded to God’s call and in preparing him to meet his adversary, God has clothed David in His Own Spirit.
0 comments:
Post a Comment