David - Baroque vs Renaissance

Subject  > Art Essays  > Works of Art

When I first began comparing the two different statues of David, Bernini's Baroque "David, and "Michelangelo's Renaissance "David" the first thing that came to my attention was the facial features. As you study the face of Michelangelo's "David" there is a sense of calmness to it. There is little or no emotion depicted in his face whatsoever. Here is a man, ready to face a giant with nothing more than a sling, a stone, and his faith in God, yet there is no emotion on his face. No signs of fear, anger, trepidation, determination, nothing. It is nothing but an emotionless stare as if he knows what it is he must do and is content ...

... sling. Also at his feet there lies a half covered harp. This harp is half covered symbolizing that David had to put his love of music on hold and neglect the harp in order to prepare himself for the battle. The fact that the harp is only half covered though shows that David did go back to the harp after the battle with Goliath. David is depicted as swinging the sling toward Goliath yet Goliath is not portrayed within the sculpture; this shows that Goliath was still some distance away at the time of David's strike. The biblical story of David is represented much more vividly in the Baroque version of the

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