Anthropology - the Story of Goliath and David - Essay Example

Anthropology David The story of Goliath and David comes from 1st Samuel 17 whereby it explains how the Israelites were fighting with the Philistines. During the war, the Philistines boosted of their best warrior know as Goliath. Goliath had repeatedly requested to meet and fight the Israelite’s best soldier who was brave enough in order to decide the entire battle. The Israelites had long feared Goliath and none of the trained soldiers from Israel was courageous enough to fight Goliath. However, a young shepherd boy by the name of David accepted the challenge to fight the giant Goliath. During the process, Saul who was the Israel leader then gives David fighting weapons but instead, David preferred a sling to confront his enemy. David moves forward and then hits the Giant Goliath in the head by using a single stone. After the giant falls down, David goes ahead and grabs Goliath’s sword before cutting his head off. The story of David generally represents the inner strength, the will to survive, power and a sense of triumph. Michelangelo, Donatello, Verrocchio and Bernini are different artists who decided to bring David’s story to life through their artistic work. However, each artistic has his own way of representing David’s actions. Their styles generally change significantly. The main theme in the piece of work is power, strength or pride. Alternatively, the four artists explored an innocent young David who received power and strength from God. Verrocchio version of David was a young man who had strength and represented the emergence of a hero. On the other hand, Michelangelo depicted David as a hero who was preparing for the big battle. Michelangelo version of David was of a mature and a strong character. Bernini completed the story of David by sculpting a young David who was already fighting, full of strength, power and masculinity both physically and divine. The combination of the four pieces of work is generally a slow moving picture motion from the first sculpture, which poses, to the sculpture that really shows the real war. Michelangelo represents the start of the war with; Bernini completes the sequence with dynamic rhythmos in order to give his piece of work the motion sense. His idea was to bring out the battle aspect through the sculpture. David Bernini David done by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is a life-size marble sculpture almost the same as that of Verrochio, Donatello and Michelangelo. The David Bernini sculpture was one of the several sculptures used for decorating the Bernini’s patron Cardinal Borghese villa. Today, the sculpture still resides at the Bernini patron Cardinal Borghese villa where it was initially placed. Being part of the Galleria Borghese, the sculpture was completed within seven months thus from 1623 to 1624. The main idea behind this particular sculpture is the biblical David. In this case, the sculpture demonstrates how David is about to throw the sling with the stone towards the Giant Goliath before later beheading him. One feature that is common with the other three sculptures thus the Verrochio, Donatello and Michelangelo is the fact that all the four pieces of art acts as symbols of expression and in this case David. The Bernini sculpture 1618-1625 was commissioned to undertake several sculptural works for one of Bernini’s patrons, Cardinal Scipione Borghese. Compared to some of the earlier pieces of art including Verrochio, Donatello and Michelangelo regarding the same theme, the David Bernini sculpture broke a new ground especially in its implied movements. Additionally, its psychological intensity was also different from the rest of the art pieces. Bernini sculpture demonstrates David throwing the stone towards the Goliath unlike the other sculptures where the theme is a bit different. Bernini version of David demonstrates how he stands alert, with his brow that is creased with concentration. Additionally, the sculptures mouth frowns in grimacing while his right arm tries to reach behind in order to put the piece of stone in the sling, which was being held by the other hand. The sculpture has very deep lines that interpret to concentrations, which suggests how the young man was alert during the whole process. Additionally, the posture in which the sculpture has been put means that that the young boy is ready to defeat his rival. One notable feature is how his feet rest on the ground while the armor that he removes cast aside. David Bernini piece of work is almost similar to that of the discobolus by Myron a sculpture that depicts a discus thrower. Generally, the David Bernini sculpture is different from both the Donatello and Verrocchio sculptures. The pose of David Michelangelo’s depicts a different theme of David. Generally, the bronze David statues by Verrocchio and Donatello had both represented a hero who was already standing victorious over Goliath’s head. These sculptures depicts David’s battle with the giant Goliath only that the sculptures brought out David as tensed and ready for war. The Donatello’s David bronze statue represents a freestanding nude David sculpture with an enigmatic smile and posing with one of his foot on Goliath’s damaged head after the end of the war. The young boy is completely naked although he has boots and a laurel-topped hat. He also holds Goliath sword in one of his arms. Goliath’s helmet has a piece of feather that protrudes and is visibly attached to one of David’s foot. On the other hand, the Michelangelo statue is a bit different in terms of how the artist used the sculpture in interpreting his message. In this piece of work, the artist brings out David after he had decided to fight Goliath just before David had gone into the war. Unlike the David Bernini sculpture, the Michelangelo statue reflects on the moment between David’s choice and action. The sculpture shows how his brow is drawn while his neck and lower right hand are full of veins to show how tensed the young boy is. Additionally, there is a twist of his body that perfectly shows the feeling that David is in. References Thomas Edison State College. (2011). Baroque Shadows-Venice to Madrid to Rome. YouTube. Oct 11, 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5OcBNr7fB8 Thomas Edison State College. (2011). Shadow and Light from Rome to the Lowlands. YouTube. Oct 11, 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeUdxzqslQ0 Read More