Perhaps the most famous sculpture in history is Michelangelo’s masterful statue of the Bible’s King David. The statue took the famous Italian artist three years to complete; when it was completed it stood 17 feet high. The controversially nude image shows the shepherd David in contemplation before his infamous battle with Goliath. Upon completion of the sculpture Michelangelo became one of the most important artists in the Western world. The statue in Florence has never lost its power to attract visitors.
Even if Michelangelo had never created his statue of David his place in the history of Italian sculpture would have been ensured with his Pieta. In St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, the Pieta shows the body of Jesus Christ being held by his mother after the crucifixion. The two figures are technically disproportionate, with the figure of Christ far shorter than that of the Madonna. Michelangelo chose this lack of proper proportion to create a dynamic effect that heightens the impact of the scene. Another interesting disconnect is that Jesus and Mary both appear to be about the same age. Finally, there is a somewhat jarring serenity to the countenance of Mary as she holds the limp figure of her dead son.
Giambologna’s expressive sculpture The Rape of the Sabine was created from a single block of marble. Upon completion, the subject of this work of art was not specific. Only after it was put on display was it decided that the subject of two men abducting a single woman would be considered a representation of the legend of how ancient Roman men retrieved wives by kidnapping nearby Sabine women. This sculpture, in Florence near Michelangelo’s David, reveals the big difference between the static figure of the biblical hero and the kinetic energy of the twisting and turning limbs and bodies that make up this sculpture. This statue was the first Italian work to successfully integrate three different figures into an articulated spiral design featuring entire bodies.