Art 101
Week 8 Checkpoint

Comparison of Three Sculptures

Art is heavily influenced by the culture in which it was produced. As the three versions of David make evident, one person or object will be represented in different ways depending on the environment of its portrayer. In examining the sculptures of David created by Donatello, Michelangelo, and Bernini I can see that art is not only influenced by an artist’s surroundings, but because of popular styles of the era. Donatello’s and Michelangelo’s David are similar in many ways. Both sculptures being from the Renaissance, they share some characteristics in form. Each artist positioned the body of David in the contrapposto position. Their bodies are curved, relaxed and shown in the nude. This reflects the popular style of sculpture of the culture and relates the ideas about the human form. Donatello’s David is different from Michelangelo’s most in the physical attributes of the body. Michelangelo’s David has more of the sculpted bodies of the Greek gods. The sculpture is muscular, mature and his physical beauty is not to be overlooked at. Donatello’s David has the body of a young man still developing into his body. Instead of appearing strong and confident, David appears to have a young boy facing a task much harder and larger than him. Bernini’s David has the shape of a human body in motion. He is strong like Michelangelo’s David and appears to be ready for action like Donatello’s. Rather than being posed before the battle, this David is already in action. This sculpture represents more than just David, it represents his actions because of the pose this sculpture seems to tell David’s story. Looking at the figure I can see that David is preparing to hurl a stone, his step and the position of his arm imply the force behind the release of the stone and the energy David felt. The energy, in fact, is what pulls me into this sculpture. As beautiful as each sculpture is, this David is more representative of the story than of the human body, which makes me appreciate it a bit more.

Reference: (2010). A world of art, sixth edition. Prentice Hall Publishing