Donatello, David

[@itimk0]

Yall really be saving me and my art history credit

[@jafetvazquez7686]

The way they speak, in constant amazement, is contagious and so great. They're perceived amazement make me feel amazed as well.

[@Free_Beers]

As a humanities professor, these videos are a godsend. Thank you Dr. Harris and Dr. Zucker!!

[@smarthistory-art-history]

So glad to hear the videos have been helpful.

[@1001orpheus]

Very informative; love the breathless narration.

[@Nooby-u7q]

THey need a cold shower after making the video. I see Donatello’s David as realism and an homage to Greek antiquity. Real because David was likely a pre-teen or very early teen, prior to musculature (See the biblical account, Goliath calls him a boy) so there would be the appearance of androgyny. Greek in that he created a nude, which would have been more difficult than clothed. Donatello always pushed himself. Reading into this work as sexual misses the very reason for the commission, which was to represent Florence as an underdog reliant on God to deliver the victory. True to biblical accounts, true to the inscription on the accompanying pedestal: “To those who fight bravely for the fatherland the gods lend aid even against the most terrible foes”. Don’t carry today’s license and practices into that day. It was displayed publicly and there is NO contemporaneous evidence of controversy. Be rational.

[@davidaboyoun8681]

Beautiful sculpture! Great video!!!

[@dustinstewart1194]

You know a video is educational when it has over 200k views and only 21 comments

[@burdenof]

This is the best way how to learn something new about art history! Love you! Thank you!

[@williamchadwick7948]

First time I ever had a glimpse of this statue from the rear. And as straight as I am, I couldn't help thinking, "Nice hiney, Donatello."

[@adamvega9007]

I enjoyed the thunder @ 6:43

[@stephenparker4083]

How many times have I stood before this sculpture (at least half a dozen times) and never saw that feather on Goliath’s helmet tickling high up on David’s thigh.

[@snowlilyyy]

lmao

[@ChrisSummerfield]

I am always inspired by the classics in art. Thanks foir the video

[@Steve-hu9gw]

Pederasty was common in Donatello’s Italy. What was controversial was his relatively open allusion to it here. See, for example, Michael Rocke, _Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and Male Culture in Renaissance Florence_ (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996).

[@Nooby-u7q]

Yes, please quote a homosexual’s take on something as completely unbiased.

[@Tsumami__]

This statue has always made me vaguely uncomfortable. The topic of his pose and body type being discussed has made me understand why.

[@litohd]

Great video my test is today!

[@peteroxley4987]

Some say that the "model"for this sculpture was Medici's teenage son. Anybody got any "more informed" information on that?

[@Nooby-u7q]

Cosimo likely commissioned this work approximately 1440. His son, Piero, would have been 24 years old.

[@AppallingTrashFilms]

Fantastic video. I found it very helpful when I wrote my paper.

[@thomasjoyce7910]

I was open to the possibility of there being a good reason for the stupid hat but it seems there isn't.

[@sirrys]

Right? The hat is ruining the otherwise perfect statue in my opinion

[@RyanSauvageau-t8s]

Sincerely.

[@ajmittendorf]

Something the two commentators said reminds me that, since the story of David and Goliath is a biblical one, the Sword in David's right and the rock in his left, also carry biblical meanings as symbols: The Bible is also known as "the Sword of the Spirit" while Christ, himself, is referred to as "the Rock" in both testaments. But Christ is also "the Word" (John 1:1) so the weapons David carries here, that which really defeated Goliath (and David would have agreed) is not David. He is not the hero of the story in its fullest sense, but it is Christ: the "Word of God" and "The Rock".

[@nightshiftblues]

I love this channel. This particular statue, though, leaves me at odds. One the one hand, as is mentioned in the video, it’s a highly eroticises depiction of David - on the other hand there’s a youthfulness to David; he looks almost like a child in fancy dress posing with the head of Goliath after the event. Personally, I prefer Michelangelo’s David tenfold.

[@clairegorsch6117]

One thing I'm left wondering is how they know it's meant to be sensual/sexual. And I'm not disagreeing, I just know that a lot of old paintings and sculptures liked to use exaggerated postures that were meant to look dramatic more than anything, and that while it may have that appearance to us now, it may have been a different story when this statue was made. As for the feather, couldn't that also just be to make the casting process easier? To conform it to the body rather than making it an entirely new, independent shape? Just some thoughts of mine. Again, not disagreeing, just not necessarily agreeing either. But I know I'm not the expert here so.

[@JOSEPH-vs2gc]

Considering the corrupt nature of the Medici, and they're taste for this Pervy sort of thing... funny how we sterilize its more salacious aspects for the sake of "art"

[@Steve-hu9gw]

What would you require? For Donatello to have included Saul literally in the process of enjoying David’s … assets? Do you generally require such explicitness with regard to heteroeroticism?

[@mikuspalmis]

@@JOSEPH-vs2gc 👌🏼

[@Nooby-u7q]

So interesting to watch people bring their moral tastes into interpreting something 600 years old.

[@Sasha0927]

1. Bernini, who has ruined all other portrayals of David for me forever then 2. Michelangelo, the recognized and beautifully done sculpture I associate with David 3. Donatello, who might not even be showing David. The note about the interesting positioning of the feathers is new to me - I do wonder why..

[@brynmawr27]

And it’s hard not to see the feminizing of this David’s body.

[@moodist1er]

You're out of context. The image isn't feminized, this was masculine fashion at the time. You didn't know that high heels and wigs were first made fashionable by men? Dood, this is your great Western heritage.

[@HostileLemons]

@@moodist1er That response feels snapping and desperate. As if to completely knock down the view the first commenter said without consideration.

[@Tsumami__]

@@moodist1er they specifically referred to his body, not the accessories or the standard of male costume during that period. His stance and his build are what feminizes him. Did you even bother to listen to what’s said in the video or research the statue yourself? Also, non western men were dressing just as fruity during this time. So calm down.

[@sirrys]

@@Tsumami__ His body is definitely not feminine, neither is his pose.

[@JabbarRafique]

Whats the reason for the hat?

[@mettlesomeknight9018]

farmers wear hats...

[@campsplosion]

take this with a grain of salt but in a high school ap art history class i was told its to show the influence the medici family had on italian style/fashion! it shows their power through access to wealth rather than physical power

[@campsplosion]

ah,,,, i just realized you asked this ten years ago,,,,,,,, but i mean if ur still wondering lol

[@HostileLemons]

David is very feminised. Looks like it was ment to cause confusion in the people who looked at it. It's a real mixed package. Remember who it was made for originally.

[@sirrys]

The only thing that’s “feminized” on him is his long hair really

[@stuartwray6175]

​@@sirrys It's generally accepted that the figure and pose are effeminate.

[@ratdog6317]

​@@stuartwray6175 yes but he clearly has male genitalia though

[@jakemc8086]

its supposed to be a 'Sensual' piece by the fact that it has erotic undertones and by the way that the feather is draped down his leg, in effecting his senses.

[@amesavis]

they got this all wrong. this is drag 1420s style - david has pronounced breasts, tiny waist, flowered hat, shoulder length hair, bulging belly, and fancy thong sandals. one imagines him prancing down the runway, "and I did it with only this rock, bitches" in fact, in movies about the medici, he gets made fun of for the effete statue. after all, remember that david was the famous lover of jonathan, and there's a fabulous opera about it, where he dies in the other's arms saying how much they love each other.

[@dr9205]

Awesome sculpture! I didn't know lost-wax casting method was used. Hat is a bit funny. David still has a nice body, nicely relaxed after victory, ... Looks really nice - a bit erotic. Like the polished finish for soft/ smooth skin.

[@marvinthemaniac7698]

I really thought this was a statue of an ancient Greek goddess at first glance.

[@RyanSauvageau-t8s]

🗡️

[@opabinnier]

But still, Don's David is prob the campest bronze ever. Fine csting and tweaking though.

[@jaketraicoff201]

This is only my interpretation but I think that Donatello's David is modeled after a woman like MichaelAngelo used men to model women