-First large bronze nude since antiquity -Exaggerated contrapposto of the body -Sleekness of the black bronze adds to the femininity of the work -Androynous figure; homoerotic overtones
--The work depicts the moment after David slays the Philistine Goliath with a rock from a slingshot; David then decapitates Goliath with his own sword -David contemplates his victory over Goliath, whose head is at his feet; David’s head is lowered to suggest humility -Laurel on David’s hat indicates he was a poet; the hat is a foppish Renaissance design
-Life-size work, probably meant to be housed in the Medici palace courtyard; not for public viewing
-David symbolizes Florence taking on larger forces with ease; perhaps Goliath would have been equated with the Duke of Milan -Nothing is known of its commission or patron, but it was placed in the courtyard of the Medici Palace in Florence -Modern theory alleges that this is a figure of Mercury and that the decapitated head is of Argo; Mercury is the patron of the arts and merchants, and therefore an appropriate symbol for the Medici.
-Additional