Regarding Donatello's DAVID, Julie mentions that this magnificent
sculpture "looks like a dandy or a cavalier" and expresses romantic traits,
along with much power and force. According to Horst de la Croix,
Donatello's DAVID, a bronze representation of the biblical David who slew
Goliath, is based upon "a new realism via the study of man and nature,
classical forms and the power of individual expression," all being
characteristic of the Early Renaissance period, circa 1430 when Donatello
created his DAVID. Thus, Donatello "defined and took as his province the
whole terrain of naturalistic and humanistic art," two very important and
necessary traits for true artistic expression during the Early Renaissance
period (de la Croix, 435).
Regarding Michelangelo's superb marble sculpture of DAVID which
exemplifies the highest artistic achievement of the High Renaissance
period, circa 1501, Julie points out that this sculpture stands as the
idealized "classical Greek style" and expresses much heroism, due to its
contraposto styling and the emotional power of David's face. Overall,
Michelangelo's DAVID reflects the greatest ideals of the High Renaissance,
being "a profound understanding of humanity and the realization that the
artist is not the creator of the ideas he conceives, due to already
existing in the natural world" (de la Croix, 492).
As compared to Donatello and Michelangelo's representation of DAVID,
that of Bernini is very different, due to being almost frozen in action
after slaying Goliath. Julie mentions that this sculpture is a combination
of the heroic and the romantic, an observation that is supported by the
fact that during the Baroque period, circa 1623, "the pose and attitude of
sculptures like Bernini's David were created to express the heroism of the
age and the ideals of romanticism which would come of age during the
Enlightenment" (de la Croix, 587).
Thus, it clear that these magnificent works of art symbolize the
relationship between man and his place in the natural world via "a new
search for forms capable of expressing the ideals of humanism and the role
of man in the universe" (de la Croix, 578).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"David." GalleriaBorghese. 2007. Internet. Retrieved from
http://www.galleriaborghese.it/
borghese/en/edavid.htm.

de la Croix, Horst. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. New York: Harcourt-
Brace-Jovanovich,
1975.