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Facebook memories reminding me of when I was gushing about this statue of David by Donatello (1430-1440) There’s a lot of good LGBTQ+ history with this sculpture and the artist.
Me trying not to make another art history thread
I’m back...With another thread.
But UH this is David sculpted by Donatello, born as Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (1386 -1466) was a sculptor prominently featured through the Italian Renaissance in Florence, Italy.
But UH this is David sculpted by Donatello, born as Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (1386 -1466) was a sculptor prominently featured through the Italian Renaissance in Florence, Italy.
Donatello was one of the first modern artists to be known as gay in Florence, a city where homosexuality was prominent among artists and patrons alike, albeit, still frowned upon by certain sectors (namely, the church.)
Donatello's sculptures are both considered supreme expressions of the spirit of the renaissance era in architecture and sculpture, and he exercised a potent influence upon the artists of the age.
He’s collaborated with a lot of artists including Lorenzo Ghiberti and Michelozzo di Bartolomeo Michelozzi. Donatello also restored antique sculptures for the Palazzo Medici.
Now back to Mr. David. A bronze statue and now in the Bargello museum, is Donatello's most famous work, and the first known free-standing nude statue produced since antiquity.
It is largely representing an allegory of the civic virtues triumphing over brutality and irrationality, it is arguably the first major work of Renaissance sculpture. It was commissioned by Cosimo de' Medici for the courtyard of his Palazzo Medici.
Some have perceived the David as having homoerotic qualities, and have argued that this reflected the artist's own orientation. The historian Paul Strathern makes the claim that “Donatello made no secret of his homosexuality.”
Donatello’s David was the first known freestanding life-size male nude sculpture since ancient Roman monuments. This was a renaissance of restored “perfection” in the classical arts. This figure idolized male form and androgyny in its form and soft curves.
The symbolism in the piece also recalls an early homoerotic allusion to the eagle of Jupiter in David’s feathered helmet-tail. Roman myth told of Jupiter’s eagle looking and lusting after the divine hero, Ganymede.
If you’re interested in reading more! Here is a good blog post about it http://readingrenaissanceart.blogspot.com/2015/11/donatellos-david.html?m=1
Here is a conversation as well about it between Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
https://smarthistory.org/donatello-david/
https://smarthistory.org/donatello-david/
