©COPYRIGHT by Joshua Kamins 2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 1 In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo. –T.S. Eliot. 2 AMONG THE PROPHETS: MICHELANGELO’S DAVID. BY Joshua Kamins ABSTRACT This thesis argues that Michelangelo employed the grammar of the Cathedral and Prophet program in the making of his David with particular reference to Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, Donatello’s Jeremiah, Nanni di Banco’s Isaiah, and Assumption of the Virgin above the Porta della Mandorla. Emphasizing Christological prophecy as the lynchpin of the overall sculptural program, it likewise applies humanist and Christian exegesis in order to reposition the David into its intended religious context. Raised on top of the Duomo, the David would have embodied the ancestral bloodline—emanating from the Tree of Jesse, carried through the womb of the Virgin Mary, and culminating in the incarnation of Christ. The incarnation—prophesied by Jeremiah, Isaiah, and the Minor Prophets—fulfills the thematic program—both in form and in hermeneutics—of the sculptural ensemble gracing the cathedral and baptistery architectural complex. The tree-stump is considered crucial to the istoria of Michelangelo’s David, akin to the importance of Goliath’s head in previous depictions of David; here it symbolizes the genealogy of Christ as derivative of the Davidic bloodline. Moreover, the employment of masculinity studies and the philosophies of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari lends new insight into the interconnectedness between the David, the viewer, and site. 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project would not have been possible without the advice of Dr. Kim Butler and Joanne Allen. From the moment I had walked into Dr. Butler’s office and announced that I had found a gap in the scholarship of Michelangelo’s David, her support and belief in this project was unwavering; I will be forever grateful. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…..............................................................…………………………...4 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS………………………………………......………………………….6 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….10 CHAPTER 1 HISTORIOGRAPHY…………………….......…………………………...17 CHAPTER 2 AMONG THE PROPHETS……………………………...…………….…49 CHAPTER 3 PLACING MANHOOD ON A PEDESTAL……………………...…...…68 CHAPTER 4 MULTIFOLIATE ROSE: MARIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICATIONS.........104 CONCLUSION………………………………………………………………………....142 BIBLIOGRAPHY……..………………………………………………………………………..143 ILLUSTRATIONS……………….....……………………………………………….....………154 5 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1) Figure 1: Michelangelo, David, c. 1501-04, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence…………………………………………………………………………155 2) Figure 2: Lorenzo Ghiberti, ‘Gates of Paradise,’ c. 1425-52, east-facing doors, Florence Baptistery, Florence…………………………………………………..155 3) Figure 3: Donatello, Jeremiah, c. 1423-26, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence…………………………………………………………………………155 4) Figure 4: Diagram of Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence; Diagram of Baptistery, Florence…………………………………………………………………………155 5) Figure 5: Ferdinando Leopoldo del Migliore, Firenze Citta Nobilissima, c. 1684……………………………………………………………………………..155 6) Figure 6: Second tier of the Campanile facing west (detail), starting from the left, Donatellos’ Bearded Prophet, Habacuc, Jeremiah, and the Unbearded Prophet. The Prophets date from c. 1416-1435. Arnolfo di Cambio, “Giotto’s Campanile,” c. 1302, Florence………………………………………………………………..155 7) Figure 7: Plaster copy of Michelangelo’s David recreating the intended placement on the North buttress of the Florence Cathedral for the installation entitled David la Forza della Bellezza, 2010, Florence………………………………………...155 8) Figure 8: Lorenzo Ghiberti, “Gates of Paradise,” c. 1425-52, Florence Baptistery, Florence. Detail of figures in niches………………………………..155 9) Figure 9: Diagram of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s, “Gates of Paradise,” c. 1425-52, East- facing doors, Florence Baptistery; 1.) Adam and Eve, 2.) Cain and Abel, 3.) Noah, 4.) Abraham, 5.) Isaac with Esau and Jacob, 6.) Joseph, 7.) Moses, 8.) Joshua, 9.) David Slaying Goliath, 10.) Solomon and the Queen of Sheba………………...155 10) Figure 10: Left: Michelangelo, David, c. 1501-04, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. Right: Detail of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s, “Gates of Paradise,” c. 1525-52, East-facing doors, Florence Baptistery, Florence. Detail of Samson…………..155 11) Figure 11: Left: Michelangelo, David, c. 1501-04, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. Detail of the head. Right: Lorenzo Ghiberti, “Gates of Paradise,” c. 1525-52, Florence Baptistery, Florence. Detail of a Prophet Head……………155 12) Figure 12: Michelangelo, David, c. 1501-04, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. Detail of his head and face……………………………………………………...155 6 13) Figure 13: Top: Michelangelo, David, c. 1501-04, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. Detail of his head. Bottom: Donatello, Jeremiah, detail of his head, c. 1423-26, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence……………………………..156 14) Figure 14: Michelangelo, David, c. 1501-04, detail of the lower legs and tree stump, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence……………………………………...156 15) Figure 15: Andrea del Castagno, Shield of David with the Head of Goliath, c. 1450-55. National Gallery, Washington, DC…………………………………...156 16) Figure 16: Nicola Pisano, Hercules/Fortitude/Daniel, 1260, Pisan Baptistery, Pisa……………………………………………………………………………...156 17) Figure 17: Donatello, Saint George, c. 1416. Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence………………………………………………………………………....156 18) Figure 18: Michelangelo, Saint Proculus, 1494; Basilica of St. Domenico, Bologna…………………………………………………………………………156 19) Figure 19: Anonymous (Nanni di Banco?), Hercules, c. 1391-97, Porta della Mandorla, Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence…………………………………….156 20) Figure 20: Nanni di Banco, Assumption of the Virgin, Porta della Mandorla, Santa Maria del Fiore, c. 1414-21, Florence……………………………………156 21) Figure 21: Nanni di Banco, Isaiah, 1408, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence…………………………………………………………………………156 22) Figure 22: Plan of Santa Maria del Fiore showing dimensions………………...156 23) Figure 23: Israël Silvestre, Detail of drawing showing Donatello’s Joshua on the north tribuna of the Duomo, 17th century, Formerly in the collection of Philip Hofer……………………………………………………………………………156 24) Figure 24: Andrea da Firenze, Detail of Model of Duomo with statues of prophets in place at summit of buttresses, c. 1360, Spanish Chapel, Santa Maria Novella, Florence.,………………………………………………………………………..156 25) Figure 25: Donatello, Marble David, c. 1408-09, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence…………………………………………………………………………156 26) Figure 26: Donatello, Bronze David, c. 1440s, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence…………………………………………………………………………156 27) Figure 27: Luigi Arrighetti, Copy of Michelangelo’s David, c. 1875, Piazza del Signoria, Florence………………………………………………………………156 7 28) Figure 28: Michelangelo, Studies for David, Corpus 19r. Louvre 714, 1502, Musée du Louvre, Paris………………………………………………………156 29) Figure 29: Running-drill in bow form, as was used in ancient Greece, and continued to be used traditionally in Italy………………………………………156 30) Figure 30: Nanni di Banco, Four Crowned Martyr Saints (Quattro Santi Coronati), relief detail, c. 1409- c. 1417, marble, Opificio delle Pietre Dure, Florence…………………………………………………………………………157 31) Figure 31: Michelangelo, The Dream of Human Life, c. 1533, Courtauld Institute, London………………………………………………………………………….157 32) Figure 32: Andrea del Verrocchio, David, c. 1473-75, bronze, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence…………………………………………………………..157 33) Figure 33: Alessandro Nanni (after Bernardino Poccetti), The Façade of Santa Maria del Fiore, c. 1587………………………………………………………..157 34) Figure 34: Donatello, Jeremiah, detail of right hand, c. 1423-26, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence………………………………………………..157 35) Figure 35: Donatello, Jeremiah, detail of head, c. 1423-26, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence………………………………………………………………..158 36) Figure 36: Right: Michelangelo, David, c. 1501-04, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence. Left: Donatello, Jeremiah, c. 1423-26, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence………………………………………………………………………....157 37) Figure 37: A well-preserved Roman period copy of the Doryphoros of Polykleitos in the Naples National Archaeological Museum. Material: marble……………158 38) Figure 38: Michelangelo, David, c. 1501-04, detail of right arm, Galleria dell’Accademia, Florence………………………………………………………157 39) Figure 39: Donatello, Saint George and the Dragon, c. 1416, marble, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence……………………………………………….157 40) Figure 40: Façade of Siena Cathedral, Siena…………………………………...157 41) Figure 41: Michelangelo, Saint Matthew, 1503, Gallera dell’Accademia, Florence…………………………………………………………………………157 42) Figure 42: Michelangelo, Pietà, detail of tree stump, c. 1498-99, Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican………………………………………………………………..157 8 43) Figure 43: Michelangelo, The Flood, c. 1508-09, Cappella Sistina, Vatican…………………………………………………………………….........157 44) Figure 44: Michelangelo, Madonna of the Stairs, c. 1492, Casa Buonarroti, Florence…………………………………………………………………………157 45) Figure 45: Michelangelo, Pitti Tondo, c. 1503-04, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence………………………………………………………………………....157 46) Figure 46: Michelangelo, Medici Madonna, c. 1521-34, Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence…………………………………………………………………………157 47) Figure 47: Attributed to Giuliano di Giovanni da Poggibonsi, formerly attributed to Nanni di Banco, Campanile Prophet, c. 1410-23, Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence………………………………………………………………..157 48) Figure 48: Giovanni Tedesco