The Making of a Hero: David Through the Eyes of the Masters

From the streets of Renaissance Florence to the grand courts of Baroque Rome, the figure of David has served as a powerful canvas for shifting cultural ideals. In 15th-century Florence, David emerged as a potent political symbol—an embodiment of the underdog spirit of the Republic. Artists like Donatello and Verrocchio reimagined the young hero as both divine victor and civic icon, while Michelangelo’s colossal marble David captured a moment of tense anticipation, reflecting Florence’s fragile strength and humanist ideals.

But the story of David in art doesn’t end there. In the 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini brought the narrative into dynamic motion, sculpting David mid-sling in a Baroque explosion of energy, emotion, and theatricality. Meanwhile, Caravaggio’s dramatic, blood-streaked David with the Head of Goliath delved into psychological complexity and moral ambiguity, marking a departure from Renaissance idealism toward a darker, more intimate engagement with the biblical tale.

This talk explores…