David (Donatello) Roman type of mature, bearded head". Donatello's bronze statue of David (circa 1440s) is famous as the first unsupported standing work of bronze cast during the Renaissance, and the first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity. It depicts David with an enigmatic smile, posed with his foot on Goliath's severed head just after defeating the giant. The youth is completely naked, apart from a laurel-topped hat and boots, bearing the sword of Goliath. The creation of the work is entirely undocumented, and it has been given a range of datings. According to one theory, it was commissioned by the
Saint Louis of Toulouse (Donatello) Investiture Controversy and later conflicts. The statue was completed in 1425, with Donatello also designing its niche according to Vasari, but in 1459 the niche was instead sold to the Tribunale della Mercanzia and used for their commission "Christ and St. Thomas". Donatello was still alive and the statue was instead taken to Santa Croce, which St Louis had visited and where it was placed on a central niche in the facade. When the 19th-century facade was built the sculpture was put into store and then into the museum. In 1943 the Orsanmichele sculptures and others were place in secure