Michelangelo's David (368) and the Seated Scribe (c. 2450 B.C., 368) both portray men. David is one of the most famous Renaissance sculptures. It is a portrayal of the young Jewish King David who, according to the Old Testament, defeated Goliath with a single strike of a stone thrown with a sling. The statue is indebted to classical Greek sculptures but in contrast to the Greek original, David's body looks very realistic with well-defined muscles and a natural pose. Moreover, his facial expression is vibrant and young and his pose suggests readiness and energy, aspects that are widely absent from Greek sculptures.
The Seated Scribe portrays a "type" or profession rather than a specific individual. The scribe's body is depicted realistically with adequate proportions and scale. In contrast to David, he has very little or no muscle tone. However, the artist did portray the seated scribe as being slightly flabby, which might be a suggestion of the sedentary nature of his profession. Another significant difference between the two sculptures is the fact that the scribe's body is symmetrical and does not suggest any movement whatsoever. This is typical of Egyptian art of the period and aligns with the political context of the Egyptian kingdoms, which emphasized stability and order. The scribe is an official sculpture and was most likely used to represent state power. David on the other hand was commissioned work and for Florentines who had just recently freed themselves from the rule of the Medici, it symbolized their strength and freedom.
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