David

In 1501, the artist Michelangelo began his masterpiece David, which stands in Florence today as a symbol of human power, cunning, and intelligence. Michelangelo started working on the David when he was only 26 years of age and received a commission from the Guild of Wool Merchants of Florence in 1501 to carve out the David as one of a series of statues of prophets for one of the buttresses of the Cathedral of Florence. He completed the sculpture within three years. David stands as a testament to Michelangelo’s mastery of the human form and sculpture (Shaikh and Leonard-Armodeo 75), and as a tribute to liberal education reflecting Michelangelo’s passion for anatomy.

            The gigantic figure of the David (17.0 ft.) now placed in a wide room of the Accademia in Florence, captures the viewers’ attention. The figure stands in a classical pose known as the contrapposto, with one leg holding its full weight and the other leg forward, causing the figure’s hips and shoulders to rest at opposing angles, giving a slight s-curve to the entire torso. He is relaxed, but alert. The viewer is further drawn to the watchful eyes of the David with its carved eye bulks, the curve of its taut torso, and the flexing of its thigh muscles in the right leg (accademia.org). 

The biblical sculpture uniquely represents the religious tale of the battle between David and Goliath. When Goliath challenges the Israelites to send out a champion of their own, only David, a young shepherd, accepts the challenge. After David and Goliath confront each other, Goliath with his armor and shield, and David only with his rock, sling, and his faith in God, David hits Goliath in the center of his forehead and emerges victorious. While previous art works had shown David the moment after he had slain and beheaded Goliath, Michelangelo broke new ground by depicting David before the battle (Shaikh and Leonard-Armodeo 75). In Michelangelo’s David, the expression and posture represents an intellectual and skillful man at the apex of his concentration, preparing to attack. The slingshot that he carries on his shoulder is almost invisible which shows that his victory was achieved by cleverness, as opposed to the earlier depictions that emphasized force. In this way, David represents the self-confident, thinking man- considered the “perfect representation” during the Renaissance period (accademia.org).

            Even today, David is considered to be a spectacle of the human form and sculpture, and reflects Michelangelo’s direct engagement in anatomical dissections and mastery of human anatomy. Michelangelo had a life-long interest in anatomy that had begun with his participation in public dissections in his early teens, when he joined the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici and was exposed to its physician-philosopher members (Eknoyan 1190). Anatomy became his passion and his works “correctly demonstrated numerous anatomical structures.” (Shaikh and Leonard-Armodeo 75). Michelangelo’s sculptures, especially David, were so lifelike and anatomically correct that they were used as models by various artists in his day and for centuries afterwards. His work also attracted particular attention from physicians. The nude model of the David, for instance, raised discussion on the subject of circumcision. A circumcised representation may have been considered politically incorrect at that time, thus some suggested that the David was uncircumcised due to the local Church’s influence on Michelangelo. Others claimed a possible lack of interest in precise anatomical detail (Strauss and Marzo-Ortega 514). Despite the various interpretations of David, Michelangelo’s creative depictions of the human body have fueled numerous discussions in the scientific community.

            Even though Michelangelo was interested in anatomy, the David reveals certain anatomical imperfections. These are seen as deliberate additions to create an aura of grandiosity in the David. For example, David’s upper head and body are proportionally larger than the lower body, and his hands are disproportionately large, which represent him as an idealized version of a man. A recent study by Stanford University also revealed that the David has exotropia (eye misalignment in which one or both of the eyes turn outward), which at first seems to be a technical fallacy by Michelangelo. However, on inspection, the David is considered to be made exotropic intentionally, because as the viewer walks all around the sculpture of the David, these eyes change his appearance dramatically (Levroy M). Approaching the statue from its left, the viewer notes that the left eye appears to be staring towards him, as if focusing acutely on the giant Goliath. However, if one circles around the right of the David, the right eye remains visible but the left eye disappears. Michelangelo thus uses the David’s exodeviation as an artistic tool (Shaikh and Leonard-Armodeo, 76).

The combination of Michelangelo’s attention to detail, a passion for anatomy and great artistic expertise makes David a true masterpiece of the Renaissance. The David not only uniquely represents a biblical account with precision and creativity, it also takes inspiration from and further contributes to the scientific society in Italy through Michelangelo’s connections to anatomical dissections. The David truly reaffirms the importance of liberal education in Europe.

List of Works Cited

Saad Shaikh and James Leonard-Amodeo. “The deviating eyes of Michelangelo’s David.” J R Soc Med. February 2005 vol. 98 no. 2: 75-76. Print.

Roland M Strauss and Helena Marzo-Ortega. “Michelangelo and medicine.” J R Soc Med. 2002 Oct; 95(10): 514–515.

“Michelangelo’s David”. accademia.org. n.d. Web. 6 April 2016

Levoy M. “The Digital Michelangelo Project.” Stanford University. n.d. Web. 6April 2016

Garabed Eknoyan. “Michelangelo: Art, anatomy, and the kidney.” Kidney International, Vol. 57 (2000), pp. 1190-1201