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
Donatello de' Medici, the foremost art patron of his era, commissioned from Donatello the bronze "David" (now in the Bargello) for the court of his Palazzo Medici. This is now Donatello's most famous work, and the first known free-standing nude statue produced since antiquity. Conceived fully in the round, independent of any architectural surroundings, and largely representing an allegory of the civic virtues triumphing over brutality and irrationality, it is arguably the first major work of Renaissance sculpture. Also from this period is the disquietingly small "Love-Atys", housed in the Bargello. Some have perceived the "David" as having homo-erotic qualities, and