Photo © Michael Kooiman

There is more than one David in Florence!

Discover the long list of artistic representations of David in town

Did you know that Michelangelo's David is one of a longer list of Davids made in Florence?
The figure appears in famous versions by Donatello and Verrocchio and in paintings.

But what is the story of David and how accurately do these statues reflect that story?

In the Middle Ages the favoured figure of David was the aged King David, usually shown with a harp as his symbol. In the Renaissance they preferred depictions of David before his rise to the throne as king, when he was a shepherd-boy, keeping his father’s flocks. The Catholic Encyclopedia is a great resource for reading on Saints, from which we learn:

"whilst his three elder brothers were in the field, fighting under [King] Saul against the Philistines, David was sent to the camp with some provisions and presents; there he heard the words in which the giant, Goliath of Geth, defied all Israel to single combat, and he volunteered with God’s help to slay the Giant. David’s victory over Goliath won for him the tender friendship of Jonathan, the son of Saul. He obtained a permanent position at court, but his great popularity and the imprudent songs of the women excited the jealousy of the king, who on two occasions attempted to kill him".

Contents

1.

King David in the Spanish Chapel
2.

Donatello's Marble David
3.

Donatello's Bronze David
4.

Verrocchio's David
5.

Michelangelo's David

King David in the Spanish Chapel

https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q51171#/media/File:Trionfo_di_san_tommaso_d'aquino,_00.JPG - Credit: Sailko / WikiCommons

The Cappellone degli Spagnoli, in the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, is decorated with a famous cycle of frescoes by Andrea di Bonaiuto (1365-1367). The one dedicated to the Triumph of St. Thomas Aquinas provides a rare glimpse of the Elderly King version of David, seated with other Biblical figures.
This is the only David depicted in painting in Florence.

Donatello's Marble David

Donatello's David

David is a muscular young man in this marble statue by Donatello, created between 1408 and 1416, when the sculptor was in his early twenties. This David's age approximates the correct age of the boy in the Bible. The clothing is studied in detail and at the foot of the statue lies the decapitated head of Goliath.
The work, one of the first to be referred with certainty to Donatello, is on display at the Museo del Bargello.

Donatello's Bronze David

Donatello's bronze David

David is an adolescent in this bronze version by Donatello that dates from the 1440s and kept, like the previous one, in the Bargello Museum. In this work David is wearing a warrior-like helmet and boots as he stands on a large winged helmet attached to the head of Goliath. Due to David's adolescent partial nudity, a sense of intimacy is created and it's believed that the bronze was commissioned for a personal collection.

Verrocchio's David

Another young David to be found in the Bargello Museum, this time executed by Verrocchio, around 1475. The artist is said to have known the Donatello version and has chosen to depict the same moment of the story but with some stylistic differences: the figure holds a short sword supposedly belonging to the 9-foot giant Goliath; his hip jutts out, creating a more open composition than the closed, finalized position of Donatello's David.

Michelangelo's David

Michelangelo's David - Credit: MRB

The famous one, the masterpiece that can be visited at the Accademia Gallery, where it is enshrined in its own tribune. Unlike the other Davids, this is the first one to be completely nude. Michelangelo also picked a different moment of the story: the moment before the action, as the figure's brow is furrowed in contemplation of the task ahead. The statue is bigger than the preceding Davids as it was created to be placed at a height.