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David (Verrocchio)
Encyclopedia
Andrea del Verrocchio
's bronze
statue of David was most likely made between 1473 and 1475. It was commissioned by the Medici family. It is sometimes claimed that Verrocchio modelled the statue after a handsome pupil in his workshop, the young Leonardo da Vinci
.
The statue represents the youthful David, future king of the Israelites, triumphantly posed over the head of the slain Goliath.
The bronze was initially installed in Palazzo Vecchio
in 1476.
Placement of Goliath's head has been a source of some debate for art historians. When exhibited at the National Gallery of Art, the head was placed between David's feet, as is the case in the statue's permanent home, the National Museum of the Bargello, in Florence
, Italy
. Another school of art historians have suggested that Verrocchio intended for Goliath's head to be placed to David's right, pointing to the diagonals of the ensemble. This placement was temporarily arranged at the National Gallery of Art, as well as Atlanta's High Museum, among others.
David was intended as a representation of Florence, as both were more powerful than they appeared, and both the shepherd boy and Florence could be viewed as rising powers.
Andrea del Verrocchio
Andrea del Verrocchio , born Andrea di Michele di Francesco de' Cioni, was an Italian sculptor, goldsmith and painter who worked at the court of Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence in the early renaissance. Few paintings are attributed to him with certainty, but a number of important painters were...
's bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
statue of David was most likely made between 1473 and 1475. It was commissioned by the Medici family. It is sometimes claimed that Verrocchio modelled the statue after a handsome pupil in his workshop, the young Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
.
The statue represents the youthful David, future king of the Israelites, triumphantly posed over the head of the slain Goliath.
The bronze was initially installed in Palazzo Vecchio
Palazzo Vecchio
The Palazzo Vecchio is the town hall of Florence, Italy. This massive, Romanesque, crenellated fortress-palace is among the most impressive town halls of Tuscany...
in 1476.
Placement of Goliath's head has been a source of some debate for art historians. When exhibited at the National Gallery of Art, the head was placed between David's feet, as is the case in the statue's permanent home, the National Museum of the Bargello, in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Another school of art historians have suggested that Verrocchio intended for Goliath's head to be placed to David's right, pointing to the diagonals of the ensemble. This placement was temporarily arranged at the National Gallery of Art, as well as Atlanta's High Museum, among others.
David was intended as a representation of Florence, as both were more powerful than they appeared, and both the shepherd boy and Florence could be viewed as rising powers.