Renaissance Blog

Donatello’s Bronze David (c. 1430), 158 cm tall, on display in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello since 1865

Introduction

Donatello’s, David, is a bronze free-standing statue that depicts the biblical figures of David and Goliath. The sculpture was completed around 1430 in Florence, Italy and currently resides in the Museo Nazionale del Bargello. The bronze David is the second sculpture of the same subject that Donatello created, the first was completed in 1408 and was carved from marble, additionally the bronze version is the first nude male sculpture since antiquity.

Medici Relation

Although there is no record of who commissioned the statue, it is widely believed to have been commissioned by the Medici family as they were the original owners. The bronze David was used as the Palazzo Medici’s courtyard centerpiece, echoing the usage of his previous marble David in the courtyard of a government building. The Medici family had a prominent role in the Florence government system, so it is speculated that the bronze David was a politically charged commission portraying the young Medici family as David slaying the antiquated government system. 

In 1495, after the flight of Piero di Lorenzo de’ Medici from Florence, the republican Signoria confiscated the statue along with many other works the Medici family had commissioned. The bronze David was placed in the city hall courtyard, mimicking its original position as well as turning the allegory into the Florence government defeating the Medici’s. 

Opinion

This is not my favorite sculpture of all time, but I do not detest it. In fact, learning more about the bronze Davidhas made it all the more interesting. However, despite its interesting backstory and the endless amounts of theories this sculpture has produced, I do not find it as visually interesting as other renaissance sculptures. There are a lot of details within this sculpture that I would not have noticed, or cared too much about, if they had not been previously pointed out to me. Most of the theories that surround this sculpture have to do with Donatello’s sexuality, as he was gay, and people see this David as portraying some homosocial tendencies. The feather on the back of David’s leg, David’s hat, his age, and his toes curling into Goliath’s beard all link back to the homosocial norms of the time. 

Before knowing all the nuances of the sculpture, I merely thought of it as a nice work of art, but after learning more about it I struggle to look at the sculpture without seeing those details that scholars argue about. David has a nice hat, and the details on Goliath’s helmet are impressive, but even these things relate back to those homosocial theories. It is not that the context of the theories ruin the sculpture for me, but they are the only thing that give this sculpture any interest for me. 

Bibligography

Randolph, Adrian W.B. “Homosocial Desire and Donatello’s Bronze David.” Engaging Symbols: Gender, Politics, and Public Art in Fifteenth Century Florence, Yale University Press, 2002, pp. 138–192. 

Unknown. “David.” Artble, Artble, 19 July 2017, www.artble.com/artists/donatello/sculpture/david.

Unknown. “David (Donatello).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Sept. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Donatello)#Omaggio.

Winter, Solomonica de. “Solomonica De Winter – Daydreaming Donatello’s David to Life.” The Old Continent, The Old Continent, 13 Apr. 2018, theoldcontinent.eu/daydreaming-donatellos-david-to-life/.