Michelangelo and Donatello were the most respected and inspiring artists of their time. Michelangelo of the High Renaissance and Donatello of the Early Renaissance both hailed from Italy. Both tell the biblical story of David versus Goliath, as told in I Samuel 17:28-51, in their sculptures "David." David was a Shepherd boy who killed the giant Goliath with nothing but a slingshot in his hands. Michelangelo displays David before the battle while Donatello shows David after the battle with Goliath. Michelangelo and Donatello were two of four famous artists who have created a statue depicting their image of David; Bernini and Andrea del Verrocchio were the others, but Michelangelo's and Donatello's were far more famous.

Donatello had a more detailed and wide-ranging knowledge of ancient sculpture than any other artist of his day. Some time between 1404 and 1407, he became a member of the workshop of Lorenzo Ghiberti, who...