The Iconography of David

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses that the flexibility of the image of David can be seen from the earliest Christian art through the High Renaissance. This paper refers to his portrayal as king in the Utrecht Psalter of the early ninth century, a depiction of the beheading of Goliath on a sculptured capital from the twelfth-century pilgrimage church at Vezelay and excerpts from the Davidic narrative in a thirteenth century psalter from Canterbury. The author states that the uses of the figure of David makes a point regarding the position of the Church in relation to secular authorities.

From the Paper:

"The key to medieval iconography was long thought to reside solely in the "more restricted religious or dogmatic purposes" of Christian imagery, but it was also understood that political questions that involved the church were frequently commented on by the symbolic content of many works (Alexander 6). Once scholars began to look at Christian art as "a representational matrix that both codified and strengthened social values and thus ensured social cohesion" throughout Christendom; however, the full range of concerns addressed by the work has become more apparent (6)."

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