David: The Baroque Era

The Baroque Era is an age of artistic achievements during the 17th and 18th century that is mainly characterized by the expressive and exaggerated use of motion, vibrant color, bold ornamentation, and intense contrast of light and darkness in a piece of work. Regard of one of the most known personality of this time, Gian Lorenzo Bernini dominated the art world with his sculptures. One of them, titled David, is a marble statue in the Baroque style that is executed during 1623. Made for Cardinal Scipione Borghese of Italy, it is currently housed in the same place that it was made – The Galleria Borghese, an art gallery in Rome, Italy. This work by Bernini commemorates a mythological event from the Old Testament. In the story, David, a shepherd who is in battle with the Philistines. Faced with a giant named Goliath, he took a stone and fire it through his slingshot, killing Goliath. The main features that are presented in this sculpture are David’s face, and his pose. First of all, his face showcases David’s great sense of determination and self-confident. His knit brow and the way his lips are pressed together makes clear of his intense concentration and attention toward the task at hand, that is, killing Goliath. Moreover, his pose seems to suggest that David is using “every ounce he has” to throw the stone at the giant. The message that Bernini is
It encourages viewer involvement in some pieces of arts during the Neoclassic and Romantic Eras by the use of space. This innovation, which is once neglected after the Hellenistic Era, is once again revived by David. However, until the 20th century, the art style forged by Bernini is once again lost in history. It was until the art historian Rudolf Wittkower wrote a book regarding Bernini’s works like David that the artistic distinction of the Baroque Era is once again