The title of Bernini’s sculpture showing the biblical David taking aim is David.
Gian Lorenzo Bernini carved the life-size marble sculpture in 1623–1624 for Cardinal Scipione Borghese. It is now in Rome’s Galleria Borghese. Rather than showing David after defeating Goliath, Bernini captures the instant when the young hero twists his body and prepares to release the stone from his sling.
That choice makes the sculpture unusually dynamic. David’s torso turns sharply, his muscles tense, and his action seems to continue beyond the marble. The figure also projects into the viewer’s space, implying that Goliath stands just outside the sculpture. This interaction with surrounding space is a defining feature of Baroque sculpture.
The work is often compared with Michelangelo’s David, but the moments differ: Michelangelo shows the alert hero before the fight, while Bernini presents David in the middle of the attack. Donatello’s David is a separate earlier sculpture, and Perseus depicts a different mythological hero.