MICHELANGELO’S DAVID ANALYSIS

Running head: MICHELANGELO’S DAVID ANALYSIS
MICHELANGELO’S DAVID ANALYSIS
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MICHELANGELO’S DAVID ANALYSIS1
Michelangelo was an Italian painter, sculptor, poet and architect of the Renaissance
period. He had a huge influence on the development and the growth of the Western art. He
was known for his sculptors like the Pieta and David. This paper will be analyzing one of the
most famous sculptors by him which is David and reflect on the masterpiece.
Michelangelo’s David is a staggeringly beautiful sculpture was created by him
between the years, 1501 and 1504. The statue is made of marble and depicts David, a biblical
hero. He represents Davis as a male nude standing. Michelangelo represents him as a male
nude standing tall. The statue can be found in the Accademia Gallery of Florence.
Image: Michelangelo, David, 1501-1504, Accademia Gallery of Florence
Source: https://pixabay.com/images/search/michelangelo/

MICHELANGELO’S DAVID ANALYSIS2
According to the biblical story which was penned down by Samuel, Goliath was a
warrior and was in conflict with Israelite army who had challenged the army to choose a
volunteer with whom he could engage in a combat. David was the opponent in the story who
helped the Israelite army taste victory. I feel that the sculpture was massive and carved in a
gigantic manner to show the spiritual strength of David over his opponent. The sculpture is
quite similar to another famous sculpture of Hercules which was said to be an iconic
sculpture and the symbol of Florence and both of these are beyond the lifesize which tries to
depict the immense power of the characters. I feel that the size of the sculpture is a visual
treat for the viewers as the huge size did not only make me awestruck but it also helped in
reflecting the power of the statue.
From the sculptor, it can be said that the body of the sculpture looks very relaxed,
calm and poised. One of the characteristics of the sculptures of the High Renaissance period
was the perfect balance between movement and stillness which Michelangelo has used in an
exceptional way while sculpting David. The sculpture looks very relaxed and yet alert as he is
looking into a different direction and is seen to be resting on the pose which is called
Contrapposto which means the sculpture is standing with majority of the weight is one leg or
foot. The sculpture has an influence of realism because of the portrayal of nudity and the way
his body has been projected.
The sculpture of the body is a pure art of work and there is a sense of movement
which can be seen in this piece of art. The statue is standing still yet the eyes of the statue are
towards the other side as if he is looking at someone and his hands and legs have been carved
in a way which together feels like he is prepared take on his defender which shows a tint of
movement in the sculpture.