Michelangelo, David

Michelangelo Buonarotti—the Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, and poet—was called “Il Divino” (The Divine One) by his contemporaries because they perceived his artworks to be otherworldly. His art was in high demand, and thought to have terribilità, poorly translated as “terribleness” and better described as powerfulness. He was mythologized by followers, emulated by artists, celebrated by humanists, and patronized by a total of nine popes. As commemorations, over one hundred portraits of him were created during the sixteenth century alone, far more than any other artist at the time. Despite three biographies written about the artist during his own lifetime, we know the most about the sometimes-generous and often-humorous perfectionist through his letters. Not only do we have more primary sources on Michelangelo than any other historical artist, he is one of the most written-about artists of all time. In today’s terms, Michelangelo was a workaholic homebody whose cats missed him when he was away. He did not like to debate art, waste time, or show his work before he was ready. Despite a few mid-career collaborations, Michelangelo was careful and guarded, never running a typical workshop, locking his studio, and burning drawings. He also complained a lot, and, at times, could be overconfident, curt, and blunt, once resulting in a punch in the nose.^[1]

David was an important symbol for the city of Florence. Just as the young, courageous David was able to conquer the giant Goliath, so too the small city-state of Florence was able to withstand invasions from larger, more powerful city states.

The importance of David as a civic symbol led the Florence Cathedral building committee to invite Michelangelo to work a great block of marble left over from an earlier aborted commission. The colossal statue – Florentines referred to it as “the Giant” – that Michelangelo created from that block forever assured his reputation as an extraordinary talent. Despite the traditional association of David with heroic triumph over a fearsome adversary, Michelangelo chose to represent the young biblical warrior not after his victory, with Goliath’s head as his feet, but before the encounter, with David sternly watching his approaching foe. David exhibits the characteristic representation of energy in reserve that imbues Michelangelo’s later figures with the tension of a coiled spring. The anatomy of David’s body plays an important part in this prelude to action. His rugged torso, sturdy limbs, and large hands and feet alert viewers to the triumph to come. Each swelling vein and tightening sinew amplifies the psychological energy of David’s pose.

Michelangelo doubtless had the classical nude in mind when he conceived his David. Like many of his colleagues, he greatly admired Greco-Roman statues, in particular the skillful and precise rendering of heroic physique, without strictly imitating the antique style. Michelangelo abruptly turns the hero’s head toward his gigantic adversary. This David is compositionally and emotionally connected to an unseen presence beyond the statue. As early as 1501, then, Michelangelo invested his efforts in presenting towering, pent-up emotion rather than calm, ideal beauty. He transferred his own doubts, frustrations, and passions into the great figures he created or planned.^[2]