Tidbits Art History | Ep 19: Donatello's David

Hello everyone, welcome back to tidbits. My name is Kristina Koopman. Thanks for joining me once again If I told you that this week we were going to be talking about the statue of David My guess was that this is where your brain goes first Sound about right? Well, it might surprise you to know that Michelangelo's David the one we just looked at was not the first nor the most Famous David of the Renaissance, although his sculpture created around 1501 Has become one of the most famous artworks probably ever in the world The iconic symbol of the Florentine Republic would not have been possible without Donatello's earlier work by the same name Which remains one of the most beautiful enigmatic and radical sculptures ever created Let's take a deeper look Our vocabulary term for this week is contrapposto or in my Midwest contrapposto This is an Italian term in the visual arts meaning an asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure in which the line of the arms Contrasts with while balancing those of the hips If we take a look at this example called the spear bearer The axis of the hips and shoulders are opposite to each other Contrapposto is considered a crucial development in the history of ancient Greek art Which by extension means all of Western art as it marks the first time in our history That the human body is used to express a psychological disposition The figures appear relaxed calm and self-assured through their body language It may seem weird for us to think about today But this was revolutionary back then being able to tell something about how a person is feeling in art Through the way their body is posed. Let's keep that in mind as we move on Donatello's bronze statue of David circa 1440s nearly 60 years before Michelangelo's version Represents a lot of firsts in the art world It's the first unsupported standing work of bronze cast during the Renaissance and The first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity The statue depicts biblical hero David with an enigmatic smile Posed with his foot on Goliath's severed head just after defeating the giant David is completely naked apart from a laurel-topped hat and sandals In one hand he bears the oversized sword of Goliath while in the other he holds a rock from his sling at the time Donatello made the sculpture the character of David represented how Florence saw itself a Small but successful mercantile city-state with a history of defending itself against more powerful enemies Choosing to depict the story of David and Goliath was not new for artists of the time Visually however this statue is startlingly different from its contemporaries David is both physically delicate and remarkably effeminate The head has been said to have been inspired by classical sculptures of Antinous Roman Emperor Hadrian's young male lover Just a shepherd boy when he fought the giant Goliath David's youth is demonstrated here by his physique Naked except for a hat sandals and shin guards David's androgynous body is soft and unmuscular He shifts his weight onto one foot and naturalistic contrapposto rather than an idealized heroic pose With his hand resting on his provocatively jutting hip as he triumphantly steps his foot on the conqueror's head when viewed from behind it's almost impossible to tell what gender the figure is his hair is long and luxurious and Judging by the traces of gilding left behind was originally presented as gold Donatello's David represents a union of classical and humanist concepts in alignment with Christian iconography The David and Goliath story here manifests both the humanist belief that the will can triumph over brute strength As well as the Christian conviction that faith in God can overcome any obstacle Exemplified by this skinny youth standing victorious over his far stronger foe David's beauty also denotes ancient ideals revived in the Renaissance such as the value of physical perfection as a virtue a talented artist Donatello endowed narratives with great drama and his figures were charged with a strong sense of presence as well as Intense character many are introspective brooding figures put to mental and spiritual tests Others are joyous full of youthful exuberance David seems to sit right in the middle The young hero luxuriates in a triumph equal parts seductive religious and political The Renaissance meant the rebirth of classical ideas and thought not just art Renaissance Florence is often portrayed as a lecherous den of debauchery and sin But in truth, it was a highly functioning city-state with a political economy based around male dominance male homosexuality in Florence was widespread and Relatively accepted as long as it followed existing relations of power despite church doctrine denouncing the practice social norms of the day made Homosexuality a common part of everyday life in Florence and a widespread community of artists and patrons existed and thrived there Today's concepts of gay or queer are basically 19th century constructs But what we do know is that a wide spectrum of sexuality was expressed and openly embraced by Florentine citizens Today Donatello's David is often claimed as a modern queer icon When looking at the sculpture one gets the impression that there is a bond beyond violence between the victorious and conquered man The suggestive nature of the sculpture seems to hint that David may have defeated Goliath through seduction One of the wings of Goliath's helmet seems to be climbing up David's leg Sensually caressing his inner thigh While this ornament would have been useful in hiding some support work Donatello was also playing a formal art trick in its original display on a high pedestal in the courtyard of the Medici's Palazzo Vecchio Onlookers would have peered up at the sculpture the feather leading the viewer's eye to his behind Curiously Goliath's helmet also shows a relief of Cupid's pulling a chariot in which another Cupid is riding an illustration of the triumph of love Art by its very nature is a reflection of the time period and setting of which it is made For Donatello, this means fierce pride in his home city-state of Florence and an appreciation of physical beauty In his sculpture David, Donatello created a creature aware of his erotic power and a hero not afraid to be soft