I am comparing Bernini’s David of the Baroque era and Michelangelo’s David from the Italian Renaissance. Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time. He was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance. Michelangelo’s David was a masterpiece sculpture, created between 1501 – 1504 that is a marble statue, of a standing male nude. The 17 foot statue was placed in Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. The statue represents a Biblical hero named David, after he made his decision to fight Goliath but before the battle has actually taken place. A moment between conscious choice and action. Gian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist and a prominent architect who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age, credited with creating the Baroque style of sculpture. Bernini’s David is a life-size marble sculpture, created between 1623-24, located in Galleria Borghese, Rome. This statue represents the biblical David, about to throw a stone at Goliath, which will allow David to behead him. The biggest difference in the two sculptures is the moment represented. Michelangelo chose the moment before the fight while Bernini chose the split second when David is launching the stone from his sling. Bernini’s body is violently twisting bursting with energy while Michelangelo had stored in his figure. Bernini has literally created an event frozen in time during the fight and Michelangelo’s was before the fight. The statues are similar because they both were innovative with respect of the ancient tradition that created works that were perfectly balanced, but not as perfectly evocative. The statues represent the same character, the David who beats Goliath, and they both embody the ideal of male form in a natural setting rather than posed.…
