The Marble David

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The marble “David” by Donatello, 1409
Museo nazionale del Bargello (Bargello National Museum)
Via del Proconsolo
Florence, April 2015

“The marble David is Donatello's earliest 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 contrapposto, the figure stands in an elegant Gothic sway that surely derives from Lorenzo 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 - (contrapposto = relaxed stance, shifted weight) suggested by the twist of the torso and the akimbo placement of the left arm, but overall the effect of the figure is rather bland.” (David by Donatello, Wikipedia)