David (Donatello): Difference between revisions
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== The Biblical Text == |
== The Biblical Text == |
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The story of David and [[Goliath]] comes from 1 Samuel 17. The Israelites are fighting the Philistines, whose best warrior - Goliath - repeatedly offers to meet the Israelites' best warrior in man-to-man combat to decide the whole battle. None of the trained Israelite soldiers is brave enought to fight the giant Goliath, until David - a shepherd boy who is too young to be a soldier - accepts the challenge. Saul, the Israelite leader, offers David armor and weapons, but the boy is untrained and refuses them. Instead, he goes out with his slingshot, and confronts the enemy. He hits Goliath in the head with a stone, knocking the giant down, and then grabs Goliath's sword and cuts off his head. The Philistines flee and the Israelites are saved. David's special strength comes from God, and the story illustrates the triumph of good over evil.<ref>Raymond-Jean Frontain and Jan Wojcik, eds., ''The David Myth in Western Literature'', West Lafayette, IN, 1980.</ref> |
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'''1 Samuel 17''' (King James Version) |
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<sup>1</sup>Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. <sup>2</sup>And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. <sup>3</sup>And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them. <sup>4</sup>And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. <sup>5</sup>And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. <sup>6</sup>And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders. <sup>7</sup>And the staff of his spear was like a weaver's beam; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. <sup>8</sup>And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me. <sup>9</sup>If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us. <sup>10</sup>And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together. <sup>11</sup>When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid. <sup>12</sup>Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul. <sup>13</sup>And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. <sup>14</sup>And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. <sup>15</sup>But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem. <sup>16</sup>And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.<sup> 17</sup>And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp of thy brethren; <sup>18</sup>And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. <sup>19</sup>Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. <sup>20</sup>And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. <sup>21</sup>For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army. <sup>22</sup>And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren. <sup>23</sup>And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them. <sup>24</sup>And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid. <sup>25</sup>And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel. <sup>26</sup>And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? <sup>27</sup>And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him. <sup>28</sup>And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. <sup>29</sup>And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? <sup>30</sup>And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner. <sup>31</sup>And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him. <sup>32</sup>And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine. <sup>33</sup>And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. <sup>34</sup>And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: <sup>35</sup>And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. <sup>36</sup>Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. <sup>37</sup>David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. <sup>38</sup>And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. <sup>39</sup>And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. <sup>40</sup>And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. <sup>41</sup>And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him. <sup>42</sup>And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance. <sup>43</sup>And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. <sup>44</sup>And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. <sup>45</sup>Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. <sup>46</sup>This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. <sup>47</sup>And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands. <sup>48</sup>And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came, and drew nigh to meet David, that David hastened, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. <sup>49</sup>And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. <sup>50</sup>So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. <sup>51</sup>Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. |
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== The Marble ''David''== |
== The Marble ''David''== |
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Revision as of 10:43, 25 April 2010
- This article is about the sculptures by Donatello, for other uses see David (disambiguation).
Donatello was commissioned to make a statue of David, victorious after his battle with Goliath, twice in his career. The story comes from the Old Testament.
The Biblical Text
The story of David and Goliath comes from 1 Samuel 17. The Israelites are fighting the Philistines, whose best warrior - Goliath - repeatedly offers to meet the Israelites' best warrior in man-to-man combat to decide the whole battle. None of the trained Israelite soldiers is brave enought to fight the giant Goliath, until David - a shepherd boy who is too young to be a soldier - accepts the challenge. Saul, the Israelite leader, offers David armor and weapons, but the boy is untrained and refuses them. Instead, he goes out with his slingshot, and confronts the enemy. He hits Goliath in the head with a stone, knocking the giant down, and then grabs Goliath's sword and cuts off his head. The Philistines flee and the Israelites are saved. David's special strength comes from God, and the story illustrates the triumph of good over evil.[1]
The Marble David
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Donatello was first commissioned to carve a statue of David in 1408. The commission came from the operai of the cathedral of Florence, who intended to decorate the buttresses of the tribunes of the cathedral with statues of prophets. Nanni di Banco was commissioned to carve a marble statue of Isaiah, at the same scale, in the same year. One of the statues seems to have been lifted into place in 1409, but was found to be too small to be easily visible from the ground; both statues then languished in the workshop of the opera for several years.[2] In 1416 the Signoria of Florence commanded that the David be sent to their palazzo; evidently the young David was seen as an effective political symbol, as well as a religious hero. Donatello was asked to make some adjustments to the statue (perhaps to make him look less like a prophet), and a pedestal with an inscription was made for it: PRO PATRIA FORTITER DIMICANTIBUS ETIAM ADVERSUS TERRIBILISSIMOS HOSTES DII PRAESTANT AUXILIUM (To those who fight bravely for the fatherland the gods lend aid even against the most terrible foes).[3]
The marble David is Donatello's eariest known important commission, and it is a work closely tied to tradition, giving few signs of the innovative approach to representation that the artist would develop as he matured. Although the positioning of the legs hints at a classical contropposto, the figure stands in an elegant Gothic sway that surely derives from Ghiberti. The face is curiously blank (curiously, that is, if one expects naturalism, but very typical of the Gothic style), and David seems almost unaware of the head of his vanquished foe that rests between his feet. Some scholars have seen an element of personality - a kind of cockiness - suggested by the twist of the torso and the placement of the left arm with the elbow akimbo,[4] but overall the effect of the figure is rather bland.
The Bronze David
(sword broken off)
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Donatello's bronze statue of David (circa 1440s) is notable as the first unsupported standing work in bronze cast during the Renaissance period, and the first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity. It created a sensation when it was first shown, due to its portrayal of the nude young male. It depicts the young David with an enigmatic smile, posed with his foot on Goliath's severed head just after killing the giant. The youth is standing naked, apart from a laurel-topped Jewish hat and boots, bearing the sword of Goliath.
The exact date of creation is unknown, but widely disputed, and dates vary between 1430 and the more accepted 1440s.[5] Donatello had made a marble statue of David in 1408/1409, though this figure was a well-dressed and victorious king holding his sling, having slain the giant, Goliath's head resting between his feet. The physical frailty and effeminate physique, which Mary McCarthy called "a transvestite's and fetishist's dream of alluring ambiguity," contrasted with the absurdly large sword by his side shows that David has conquered Goliath not by physical prowess, but through the will of God. The boy's nakedness further enhances the idea of the presence of God, contrasting the youth with the heavily-armoured giant. The figure's contrapposto suggests that Goliath did not pose a threat to him. David is presented uncircumcised, against the Jewish practice.
The statue originally belonged to Cosimo de' Medici, and was placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo Medici in Florence. After the expulsion of Piero de' Medici, it was confiscated, and ordered placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo della Signoria. It is now in the Bargello. There is a full-size plaster cast (with a broken sword) in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Other subsequent noted Italian statues of David are by Andrea del Verrocchio, Michelangelo, and Bernini.
Controversy
David was a very controversial statue for many reasons. One reason was the fact that it depicted a nude young man, with much detail on the genitals. Also, a long feather coming from David's boot that caressed his leg and thigh, had, at the time, implied that David and/or Donatello (the artist), was homosexual. During Classical antiquity, homosexuality had been something that was practiced regularly, and men believed that they could only achieve great love with other men. However, during the time of the Renaissance, when the statue was created, sodomy was illegal, and over 14,000 people had been tried in Florence for this crime [6]. So this homosexual implication was very risky and dangerous. The fact that the Medici family had accepted this controversial statue was one of the reasons why Savonarola objected to the Medici's humanist ideas.[7]
Change in identification
The traditional identification of the figure has been recently questioned, with an interpretation leaning toward ancient mythology, the hero's helmet especially suggesting Hermes. The sculpture is now sometimes referred to as David-Mercury.[8] If the figure is indeed meant to represent Mercury, it may be supposed that he stands atop the head of the vanquished giant Argus Panoptes.
Restoration
The statue recently underwent restoration in 2008 and is on display in Bargello.
In addition to the full-cast copy in the United Kingdom, there is also another copy at the Slater Museum at the Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, Connecticut, United States.[9]
Notes
- ^ Raymond-Jean Frontain and Jan Wojcik, eds., The David Myth in Western Literature, West Lafayette, IN, 1980.
- ^ H.W. Janson, The Sculpture of Donatello, Princeton, 1957, II, 3-7; John Pope-Hennessey, Italian Renaissance Sculpture, London, 1958, 6-7.
- ^ Documents on the statue may be found in Omaggio a Donatello, 1386-1986, exh. cat., Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence, 1985, 126-127. On the political implications of David for early-modern Florence, see Andrew Butterfield, ”New Evidence for the Iconography of David in Quattrocento Florence,” I Tatti Studies 6 (1995) 114-133.
- ^ Omaggio, 125.
- ^ Greenhalgh, M., Donatello and His Sources, London, Duckworth, 1982, p. 166.
- ^ See PBS documentary "The Medici", 2003
- ^ Raymond-Jean Frontain. "The Fortune in David's Eyes". GLRW.
- ^ Fossi, G., et al., Italian Art, Florence, Giunti Gruppo Editoriale, 2000, p. 91.
- ^ http://www.norwichfreeacademy.com/museum/what-is-this-place/[failed verification]
External links
