Donatello’s “David” - A Risky Endeavor

Donatello - David - 1430s - Bronze, height 158 cm - Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence (click photo for larger image)Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (c. 1386 – December 13, 1466). As a free-standing, life-size nude—the first of the post-classical age - Donatello’s bronze “David” is undoubtedly one of the most important sculptures of the Italian Early Renaissance. No matter from which side one approaches the work, one always sees a figure of extremely harmonious grace and almost playful lightness. Androgynous sensuality, pervading the whole figure, eclipses recollection of the recent battle with Goliath, upon whose severed head David has placed his foot. 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. So this statue—based on a live model of a young male—rather than on antique statuary—was quite risky and dangerous. Luckily for the artist, he was under the protection of the Medici.