Lily Ente David Analysis

Both Lily Ente’s David and the plaster cast of an original Greek marble statue are dependent on their sense of balance to center the work and create a representation of the human figure in motion. Ente’s David is a more stylistic representation of the human figure than the realistic statue of the man and animals from Acteon. While Ente’s may appears to have less depth and a full image of the body it maintains a similar level of engagement as that seen in the Greek statue. Each of the statues has a different general direction of motion while the Ente’s piece maintains a general axis the Greek statue has a more diagonal central axis some diversions to account for the movement of the body. While the movement within the Greek statue would appear

The movement within Ente’s piece is natural while also remaining stationary. There is very little actual perceived movement but the figure remains dynamic as if to give an impression of past and future movement.

Lily Ente’s David is carved out of single plank walnut and as a result it is located within a single flat plane with the figures and features as relief carvings in the plank. There is no clear depiction of where the body is acutally oriented to as the only identifiable parts of the body are hands and face, everything else is represented in an abstract form with no exact identification. There is no symmetry within the overall piece but there remains a sense of balance in which the notable features seem to follow a more curved vertical axis over a more drastic straight axis. The placement of the face and hands in relation to the rest of the statue and figure with

The Greek statue depicts a more naturalized human body but it still maintains a sense of an idealized human body that may not truly reflect reality. The material of the Ente statue also leads to the conclusion of a sense of motion, as the natural grain of the wood appears to move along the general direction of the piece. The wood also creates a sense of softness associated with the softness of the human figure. The reflection of light on the wood also helps in the skin like appearance of the material. The material of the Greek plaster cast appears to reflect the softness of skin while also maintaining intended appearance of the hardness depicted in the musculature of the figure. While the material isn’t a major contributor to the nature of the piece it does help reflect the intended appearance of the figure. The interaction of light with the plaster and the shape of the piece is minimal with no added effects added except an emphasis on the already light parts and greater shading in other