Bernini Vs Michelangelo Research Paper

636 Words3 Pages

Two artists, Bernini and Michelangelo, are famously known for the different sculpted versions of David. These two sculptures share multiple similarities and differences, like the time period in which they were sculpted, the size of the statues, the way they were formed and even the movement of the statue.
During the Baroque period, the Michelangelo and Bernini picked up on many of the early Renaissance ideas, using the time period to inspire them throughout the statues of David. When comparing the two statues together, they both incorporate naturalism and humanism to give the statues a way to connect to the Biblical story of David. In Michelangelo’s sculpture, David is standing in the contrapposto stance with his right foot holding his weight giving the naturalistic feel as this can also be seen in Bernini’s statue. In the other David, there is a sense of movement through the way the body is angled, showing the use of naturalism. …show more content…

In both figures, there are a lot of lines emphasizing the muscles, bones, and veins of their bodies. Both figures also show emotion and life within their face. In Michelangelo's piece, David's eyebrows are a bit creased showing tension within his face. In Bernini's piece, David also has his eyebrows creased and he is biting his lip as if he is really pushing himself and working hard. Not only do their facial expressions give them both characteristics of an actual human, but the sense of movement we get from both figures also gives them that attribute. Michelangelo's David is shown raising his left arm showing movement as well as humanism, but this statue of David has a finishing feeling to his movement, while Bernini's David is angling his body and his arms are both bent allowing viewers to sense the movement and the