Donatello, born around 1386 in Florence, became well known for creating sculptures that did not need to be supported by an obvious stand which was instead incorporated into the sculpture itself. He is known for works such as St. Mark, Judith and Holofernes, Magdalene Penitent, and of course, David.

Unlike the typical version of David, Donatello asserts his desire to make his statue standout by making it nude -- something which could have been considered controversial. The statue itself shows that artists are not afraid to press the boundaries in society. Of course, it's these choices that often form ideals in later societies.

If you look closely at the feet of this statue, you can see that its support is in fact connected to the helmet/Goliath's head. The ankles of human statues are the weakest point of any sculpture that attempts to recreate the human body. By adding the scenic details which not only add to the story of the sculpture, it also creates the necessary support of this statue and makes it much less obvious than in other statues. It maintains the true art of human body, although perhaps a bit more provocatively than needed.

Michelangelo, born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, was a man of his time and could be called a Renaissance Man without a doubt in my mind. His works of art are among the most famous in existence, comparable to that of another Renaissance Man, Leonardo Da Vinci. Many of his documents still exist which is another thing he has provided for that age. He is best known for Pieta and David, both sculptures were done before he could've hit a midlife crisis if that tells you anything about his abilities as an artist.

In a feat that even astounds me, he managed to complete this sculpture in what I consider to be a short amount of time: two years. He surged beyond the typical interpretation of the tale of David and Goliath by not capturing the decapitated head of Goliath in his sculpture, instead focusing on David alone. The sculpture is a great example of contrapposto, exploiting both relaxed and tensed parts of the body.

In this example of David, the stand meant to support the weakest point of the statue is plain to see unlike the one that was created by Donatello. Michelangelo uses a tree stump as the stand for the sculpture. I still greatly admire the way that this artist has managed to make his subject appear so lifelike and perfect. Instead of appearing as a forced or stiff position, the subject seems unperturbed by his current position, relaxed enough to appear natural to the human eye.

Bernini, born on December 7, 1598 in Naples, became known as the leading sculpture of his day and was well versed in the baroque technique used in art. He seemed to know how to capture the movement of a person during a narrative, such as the biblical story of David and Goliath, with a shocking amount of realism. It appeared that the statue would surely come to life. He was known for both his paintings and sculptures.

This sculpture of David, instead of remaining static much like its predecessors, interacts with the environment around it, creating a very lifelike sculpture. While others strove to portray him in his moment of victory or preparing for battle, he chose to demonstrate the moment before the victory. He showed his audience the actually story of David casting the stone which would lead to the demise of Goliath. The three-demonstional quality of this David urges the viewers to move about the statue and view it from as many angles as possible. That is the talent of a baroque statue.

Okay, I just have to say one thing that thoroughly surprised me about these artists. The amount of time they took to create these works of art, which would've taken me decades if I attempted, sometimes only took a matter of months or years. To be able to create something so masterful -- so perfect -- truly shows the talent of each artist. I admire them all for various reasons but I have to say that Bernini won me over with his use of movement and the fact that it made me want to see in person just to view it from every angle available.