The David
大卫幼年时，腓力士人大举进攻以色列人。腓力士人希望以色列人选出最强勇士挑战他们的巨人哥利亚，只要最强战士能够战胜哥利亚，就算以色列人获胜。但哥利亚身形巨大、力大无穷，以色列士兵中无人前去迎战，此时还是牧羊人的大卫请缨出战。他拒绝了以色列王扫罗给他的盔甲和武器，用打狼使用的投石器投出石头将哥利亚打昏，而后用利剑割下哥利亚的头。牧羊人大卫为以色列人赢得胜利，也成为了少年英雄。
When David was young, the Philistines attacked the Israelites. The Philistines wanted the Israelis to choose the strongest warrior to challenge their giant Goliath. As long as the strongest warriors could defeat Goliath, even the Israelis would win. But Goliath was huge and powerful, and none of the Israeli soldiers came to face it. At this time, David who was a shepherd asked to fight. He refused to wear the armor and weapons from King Saul of Israel, threw stones with a slinger used by the wolf to stun Goliath, and then cut off Goliath’s head with a sharp sword. David the shepherd won the Israeli victory and became a young hero.
大卫的故事来自于《圣经·旧经》中的撒母耳记，因故事中体现出的无畏精神和人文思想，大卫成为文艺复兴时期艺术家们的一重要创作灵感，其中最著名的作品便是
David’s story comes from Samuel in the Bible and the Old Scriptures. Because of the fearless spirit and human thoughts reflected in the story, David has become an important creative inspiration for Renaissance artists, the most famous of which is David by Michelangelo.
米开朗基罗刻画了大卫刚作出决定，即将踏上战场迎战哥利亚的瞬间。大卫头部微微向左偏，双目圆睁、直视前方，体态放松而坚定 — — 右手自然下垂、两腿自然分开，但肌肉有力、可见右手血管喷张。但仔细观察可以发现，大卫的头部和手臂（尤其是右手）被刻意放大，学者认为这是因为该雕像原本是要放置于高处，米开朗基罗对其比例进行调整以让观众从下向上看时更能感受到大卫的挺拔、俊美，和流露出的自信。
Michelangelo portrayed the moment when David had just made a decision and was about to enter the battlefield against Goliath. David’s head was slight to the left, his eyes were wide open, his eyes were looking straight ahead, his body was relaxed and firm-his right hand drooped naturally, his legs were naturally separated, but his muscles were strong, and he could see blood vessels in his right-hand spurting. However, if you look closely, you can see that David ’s head and arms (especially his right hand) were deliberately enlarged. Scholars believe that this is because the statue was originally placed in a high place. Michelangelo adjusted his proportions to let the audience When you look down and up, you can feel David’s erect, handsome, and self-confidence.
但除了米开朗基罗的大卫，约在1440年，一位名叫多纳泰罗的雕刻家也曾以大卫为主题进行雕刻。他的《大卫》在早期文艺复兴中占有重要的地位。
But in addition to Michelangelo’s David, circa 1440, Donatello also carved on the theme of David. His David was considered an enormous milestone in the early Renaissance.
多纳泰罗17岁时加入洛伦佐的工作室进行学习，在那里接受了严苛的艺术训练。早期作品以“人”为中心，借鉴古希腊罗马的艺术的表现形式，创作了《圣乔治像》等一系列举世闻名的作品。
Donatello joined Lorenzo’s studio at the age of 17 to study, where he received rigorous art training. Early works centered on “people” and borrowed the expressions of ancient Greek and Roman art, creating a series of world-famous works such as St. George.
圣乔治威武、庄严、俊美。多纳泰罗几乎创造了美的一种标准。但在此之后，多纳泰罗开始追求全新的标准 — — 夸张、变形、脱离传统意义的美 — — 也就是丑。
St. George’s majestic, solemn and handsome. Donatello almost created a standard of beauty. But after that, Donatello began to pursue a new standard-exaggerated, deformed, beauty that was out of traditional meaning-that is, ugly.
多纳泰罗的作品吸引了科西莫·美蒂奇的注意，科西莫也是他艺术创作生涯最大的支持者。
Donatello’s work has attracted the attention of Cosimo Medic, who is also the biggest supporter of his artistic career.
多纳泰罗的大卫是古代之后第一座无支撑物（free-standing）的裸体雕像。大卫全身赤裸，只着用月桂叶装饰（象征胜利的帽子与靴子，带着神秘的微笑和属于哥利亚的佩剑踩在哥利亚的头上。大卫此时还是一个牧童，透过这件作品我们彷佛还能够看到他的稚气（与米开朗基罗高达4米天神般的大卫不同）。
此外，这件作品采用对立式平衡的手法（即重心转移），使得雕塑体态流畅、姿态悠闲。对立式平衡并非多纳泰罗的发明，而是他对古希腊“专利”的沿用，只是在此之前黑暗的中世纪时期，这种手法已经“绝迹”了。
还有很多学者认为多纳泰罗在这件作品中有两个细节展现了他的同性恋倾向：大卫的腿似乎太长了，哥利亚的胡须缠绕在了大卫的凉鞋上。种种解读和传说都为这件作品增添了神秘色彩。
Donatello’s David is the first free-standing nude statue after antiquity. David was naked and decorated with bay leaves (a hat and boots symbolizing victory, stepping on Goliath’s head with a mysterious smile and a saber belonging to Goliath. David was still a shepherd boy at this time, as we can still see his childishness in this piece (different from Michelangelo’s 4 meters god-like David). Also, this work uses a counterbalanced approach (i.e. shifting the center of gravity), making the sculpture a smooth body and a relaxed posture. The counterbalance was not the invention of Donatello, but his inheritance of the ancient Greek “patent”, but before this dark medieval period, this method was “extinct”.
Many other scholars believe that Donatello showed his homosexuality in two details in this work: David’s legs appear to be too long, and Goliath’s beard is wrapped around David’s sandals. Various interpretations and legends add mystery to this work.
