HOMEWORK GUIDE | What does McHam argue?

Sarah Blake McHam, “Donatello’s Bronze David and Judith as Metaphors of Medici Rule in Florence”, Art Bulletin, Vol. 83, No. 1 (2001), pp. 32-47

1) What does McHam argue? Why was the placement of Donatello’s bronze David and Judith and Holofernes in the Medici Palace courtyard and garden significant? What does their placement reveal? (pp. 32)

2) What evidence does McHam provide that suggests Donatello’s earlier marble version of David was interpreted in political terms? How would the placement of the artist’s later version of David been understood? (p. 34)

3) According to the author, what was the rationale for selecting the Old Testament heroine Judith? How does Donatello continue to traditionally represent her? On the other hand, what was unprecedented? (pp. 34-36)

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4) What two celebrated instances of “tyrannicide” in the ancient world were familiar to fifteenth-century audiences? According to the author, how does Donatello suggest a link to these renowned historical episodes? (p. 36)

5) Which scholar from antiquity does McHam reveal provided the most detailed accounts and commentary about the Tyrannicides? How does this relate to the installation of the David and Judith in the courtyard and garden of the Medici Palace? (pp. 38)

6) How do the sculptures in the Medici Palace repeat features of the Athenian sculptures discussed in McHam’s article? (p. 38)

7) What was the aim and function of John of Salisbury’s Policraticus? Who drew extensively on its theories and what further stimulated its interest? What additional reasons does McHam suggest account for its enduring popularity in Italy? (pp. 38-40)

8) According to McHam, how does Donatello’s Judith correspond to John of Salisbury’s discussions of the state and tyrannicide? How does the topicality of John’s treatise help to explain its commission? (pp. 40-41)

9) What historical factors in Florence does the author suggest precipitated the outrageous suggestion that Donatello’s sculptural program in the Medici Palace were calculated to advertise that the Medicis were protectors of liberty? (p. 41)

10) What other thematic and formal links does McHam suggest can be made between Donatello’s sculptural group to the other aspects of the decoration of the Medici garden and courtyard? (pp. 41-42)