has reached that moment when the stone is about to be released. It is a marvel of dramatic action frozen in stone. “The unruly hair, the knitted brow, and above all the clenched mouth indicate one of those moments when the complete physical and psychic resources of the will are summoned to extraordinary effort” (Stokstad 759). The viewer becomes physically involved with the action of the statue. David's eyes sight past us. The viewer’s space is his and will soon be the stone's. The split second of time captured in the marble demands a single, clear point of view (Janson 556). By the time the David was finished, early in 1624, Bernini no longer had time for private commissions. The David, consequently, marks a real break in Bernini's life. “Bernini's unification of real and artistic space stands at the center of most of the Baroque art in the following years. In some ways, the whole history of Bernini's artistic journey can be seen as the unfolding of this idea, with ever-richer meanings and more powerful physical environments. A new unison of the arts emerged and the David stands at the beginning of this period” (“Berninidavid”). Comparison of the Two DavidsAlthough both of the above artists chose the same subject matter, there are many differences between their sculptures. The first difference is the moment the artist chose to represent. Michelangelo chose the moment just before the start of the battle. His David is thinking about what he is about to do. Bernini on the other hand, chose the split second before David launches the stone from his sling. By choosing this moment, Bernini has created a dramatic representation of an event frozen in time, suggesting the next series of events, the release of the stone and the death of Goliath. His figure is bursting with the same energy that Michelangelo had stored in his figure. Bernini's figure implies another figure in our space, Goliath. Davi...
