L Foot of David
In
1501 Michelangelo was commissioned to create the
David, which as it turned out was one of the most
famous renaissance sculpture art pieces, by the
Arte della Lana (Guild of Wool Merchant) who were
responsible for the upkeep and the decoration
of the Cathedral in Florence. For this purpose,
the renaissance artist, Michelangelo was given
a block of marble which Agostino di Duccio had
already attempted to fashion forty years previously,
perhaps with the same subject in mind. Michelangelo's
renaissance sculpture breaks away from the traditional
way of representing David in sculpture. He does
not present us with the winner with the giant's
head at his feet and the powerful sword in his
hand, but portrays the youth in the phase immediately
preceding the battle: perhaps he has caught him
in the moment when he has heard that his people
are hesitating with Goliath jeering and mocking
them.
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