Which Italian Renaissance artist sculpted the statue of David?

The Italian Renaissance artist who sculpted the statue of David was Michelangelo. His marble David was created between 1501 and 1504 and is one of the defining masterpieces of Renaissance sculpture.

The statue portrays the biblical hero David before his battle with Goliath, emphasizing alertness and controlled strength rather than showing the moment of victory. Michelangelo carved it from a single block of Carrara marble that had already been worked on and abandoned by other sculptors. The difficult block was unusually tall, narrow, and damaged, making the commission especially challenging.

David was originally intended to stand high on Florence Cathedral, alongside statues of prophets. Instead, civic leaders chose to place it outside the Palazzo della Signoria, the seat of Florence’s government. There it became a symbol of the city’s independence and vigilance. The original is now housed in Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia, while a copy stands in the Piazza della Signoria.

A common mix-up is confusing Michelangelo’s David with Donatello’s earlier bronze David or Bernini’s later Baroque sculpture. Those are separate works depicting the same biblical figure.