Donato di Niccolo Donatello vs. Gianlorenzo Bernini
Looking at Donato di Niccolo Donatello’s bronze sculpture of David versus Gianlorenzo Bernini’s marble sculpture of David, Bernini, without a doubt, had a much better perception while creating his masterpiece. Known throughout fifteenth-century Florence, Italy, Donatello was one of the premier sculptors of his time. Donatello mastered various artistic styles. Donatello would use his artistic knowledge throughout the Renaissance era. On the other hand, over a hundred years later, Gianlorenzo Bernini would step into the baroque era to become the most famous sculptor of his time. Bernini who was a Jesuit, enhanced his art with devout and intense religious expressiveness. Bernini’s works were intensified by his spiritual exercises (Wold, Martin, Miller, Cykler pgs. 145, 182).…show more content… Goliath’s decapitated head which lays under David’s left foot. The stone in David’s left hand and Goliath’s sword in his right hand. He is wearing a shepherd’s hat which is decorated with a laurel wreath. In Greek mythology, the laurel wreath symbolized victory. Donatello focused attention on the childish features of the young David’s body and adolescent sincerity of his facial expression. A small shift of the hips with on leg straightened shows the figure is resting on that specific leg shows Donatello’s use of the contrapposto pose. The figure shows a relaxed posed which is expressed through a slight tilt of the head, bent elbows, and wrist. Donato di Niccolo Donatello’s bronze statue of David stands five feet, two and one quarter inches tall. Created between 1430-1440, the statue now rest in the Bargello Museum in Florence, Italy (Wold, Martin, Miller, Cykler pgs.