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Essay / The Hidden History of the Sculpture “David and the Head of Goliath”
David with the Head of Goliath, by Bartolomeo Bellano in 1470 was a tribute to the original statue of David made by his teacher Donatello in the 1440s Bellano's sculpture played a vital role in popularizing the development of bronze statuettes in the early Renaissance in northern Italy. In this sculpture, David is depicted as an inexperienced teenager standing before a decapitated Goliath. David is the unexpected winner of this battle, his innocence lost as he looks down in the aftermath of the fight. Through David's body features, scale details, and elaborate ornamentation, this sculpture symbolizes young David, skinny and inexperienced, standing above an entity once considered unbeatable with his quick wit, his courage and his faith in God. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Bellano's rendition of David with the Head of Goliath shows the hero posing above Goliath's head, his hand resting on his hip and his elbows turned outward. Bellano dressed David in a short tunic with many pleats, of which "Wilhelm von Bode once described the sculptor's boldly chiseled draperies as crumpled paper." The slight erosion of the sculpture over time combined with the detailed pleating of David's tunic gives an allusion to crumpled paper. David is depicted as a youth, accessorized with a gorget adorning his neck, boots rolled up to his calf, and a shoulder bag strapped to his back. His only weapon consists of stones and a slingshot, thrown over his right shoulder. Looking at this sculpture, one might wonder why David is holding Goliath's sword. This giant sword was an extraordinary weapon that had the power to kill even the most armored enemies. Although he lacked the experience to use other weapons, he took Goliath's own sword to decapitate him, using it more like a knife than a sword. Looking at the sculpture, one notices how large and awkward the sword is in David's hand, which is clearly not meant for him. David's special strength comes from God, and the story illustrates the triumph of good over evil, of courage over arrogance. Looking at the statue from the back, you can see the stones scattered on the ground, indicating the intensity of the battle and the fact that it had just ended. David's position above Goliath's head asserts his dominance. The wedge-shaped gash on Goliath's forehead indicates what ended his life. David's stance and the position of his legs indicate contrapposto, which adds elements of naturalism and flair. Simply comparing the head size of Goliath and David shows the difference in raw power, but the scene presents the unlikely winner of this battle. Both Donatello and Bellano used a stark contrast between the two subjects to grab the viewer's attention. This statuette is obviously not a direct imitation of Donatello's David. The overall political and religious message, however, remains the same. David, a courageous believer in God, killed an enemy soldier who mocked his king and creator. The circular structure on which this sculpture is built was made for observation purposes. This sculpture had to be easily rotated and observed from all angles. The Italian Renaissance was reaching its peak at this time, so it makes sense that a sculpture like this could have been commissioned since religious stories were very well known and often depicted during this time. When creating this sculpture, Bellano.