David

Michelangelo, full name Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (Michelangelo Buonarroti) was a famous Renaissance painter, sculptor, poet, and architect. Due to his great success creating the Pieta in Rome, and despite his small portfolio and lack of experience at the time, he was asked by the board consuls in Florence to create David. It was originally commissioned to be placed in the Opera del Duomo for the Cathedral of Florence but was then settled outside of the Palazzo Signoria. Interestingly, it was sculpted from a piece of abandoned marble left from artists that had be commissioned before him and failed.

David is a monumental piece of artwork created to represent the

courage of the biblical hero in the historical religious battle of David and Goliath. This symbolism of heroic courage was created to represent the anger and strength of the people due to political unrest during this time. Michelangelo also created David with great regards to the natural beauty, rationality, and elegance of the human form, which we will also see later in the Sistine Chapel. This sculpture is not only influential for its religious meaning, but it also represents a strong political message. In the decades prior to the commission of David, Florence was under the rule of the Medici family. Florence was a long-standing republic when the Medici family slowly became sole rulers, while still under the guise of a republic. Fortunately, the Florentine government was able to overthrow the family and the republic was reinstated. However, another ruler, Savonarola, slowly gained power shortly after and attempted to rid Florence of important forms of artistic expression such as paintings and literature, because

he believed it was corrupting their wealth. Once again, the Florentine government regained control and art began to flourish once more. David was commissioned only three years following the execution of Savonarola, meaning it was created as a symbol. Florence had just defeated two tyrants, and they’re now able to use a combination of art and religion to express their patriotism and culture. David symbolized hope, patriotism, worship, beauty and more. That is why it stands as one of the most important representations of artistic expression during the Renaissance.