The Statue of David
The Statue of David by Michelangelo is one of the most awakening things in all of Renaissance art and architecture. The very depth and detail of the masterpiece shows the great care and ability which Michelangelo put into this work. However, The Statue of David is not only amazing because of its designer. As someone looks upon this piece, all of the qualities praised by humanists are definitively illustrated by David’s facial expression, posture, and also his great detail. David’s face is represented like the calm before a storm. He puts forth an image of confident intelligence and calmness. David’s body and stance put forth an amazing sense of power and the onlooker would almost necessarily feel inclined to display a certain sense of awe at the aura of leadership and control emanated. The body most primarily represents the pillar of faith which David possesses. The detail in the sculpture adds to feelings already emphasized by the stance and expression of David, but also emphasizes the sense of fullness and faith in God. Following this argument, a person who possesses little faith would possess less detail; Michelangelo shows David’s spirit by defining every muscle, crease, and vein in his physique.
The face of David expresses both intelligence and a calmness that are almost angelic. These two features describe the most important mental ideas of the Renaissance man. The perfect Renaissance man can be described as a sort of intellectual. Michelangelo manages to define a certain look of understanding in David’s sharp eyes, like he is taking everything he sees into account. This notion shows definite purpose because David is portrayed as a well-rounded individual. David is also shown with a benevolent calm, most evident in his lips. His look is almost a glance of pity for the evil the civilized world had recessed into. However, the corners of his lips show an upward crease that is most commonly characteristic of a smile. The smile can be said to be representative of rebirth, because it is likely a look of calm enjoyment that David takes as he looks upon the civilized world.
David’s physique is very important because this is a physical representative of his leadership traits and amazing faith. Leadership is a central theme of the Renaissance because, by fearless leadership, the world is changed and molded not necessarily by powerful men, but by people in many varying social situations, and their profound ideas. Giving David such a defined physique was a very profound way of proclaiming his ability to fell his military superiors armed by only his God. Faith in Godis also a central point of Renaissance thought because of the profound influence of church over the population. The church uses society against itself by destroying any opposition, and declaring that force to be ‘of Satan’ so that no one may support them without fear of similar condemnation. The attention to detail that Michelangelo gives to David is extremely profound. The art is truly a reflection of the genius of Michelangelo, but Michelangelo surely would not have given such intricacies to a person of less character. David is made in extreme so that the details of his body stand out as much as the main points.
The Statue of David is, however, when dissected, a model of the ultimate secular of Renaissance society. David was one of the very first nudes done in the Renaissance age, and no doubt is the most profound. Nudism is considered to be a symbol of a secular society, and in the guise of ‘David’, the church does not condemn this nude. Michelangelo upsets no one. Rather, I think that “The Statue of David” is much like “Utopia” by Thomas More. Both of these works are satires on the flaws in a corrupt system, and are representations of an absolute perfection. Thomas More represents society, whereas Michelangelo represents man. As you can see, David is in a perfect physical shape, and his eyes do definitely look with untamed intelligence. Castillione writes a book, “The Courtier”. This book describes the perfect Renaissance man to be much like a modern boy scout; Physically fit, mentally awake, and morally straight. Michelangelo does indeed give ‘David’ all of these traits. Therefore we can surmise that David in fact, is more related to the men of the Renaissance era than he is to the bible figure whom he is named after. David, in all of his glory, is the artistic equivalent of -- a satire.