Semiotic Reading Into Effeminacy Of Donatell’S
...freestanding, life-sized nude sculpture since classical times. With regards to the sculpture of earlier Italian Renaissance, its’ effeminacy has stirred continuous inquiry and speculation. Is it effeminate? If yes, to what extent and why? To answer these questions, this essay analyzes this sculpture in terms of two binary oppositions, drawing on semiotics theory. The analysis shows how these two binary oppositions are interrelated and in a broader context how Italian Renaissance was related to the Grecian-Roman culture.
To begin with, it is necessary to clarify the legitimacy behind employing semiotics theory. Basically, semiotics theory derives from structuralism, holding that meaning is a signifying system and is not isolated but “relational and a matter of difference” (Bressler 81). Hence, meaning is found only in the relationship among the various components of the system. For mainstream structuralists, the primary relationship features a series of binary oppositions. “Each binary organizes, values, and then is used to interpret the text” (Bressler 88). Semiotic theory is interested in “how a text conveys meaning rather than what meaning is conveyed” (Bressler 83). Although the theory originated in the field of linguistics, it can be applied to all meaningful cultural phenomena (Bressler 82). It can be used to interpret any culture phenomena as a meaning system in terms of binary oppositions (Baldwin & Longhurst et.al.50).
Within this theoretical framework, this essay deciphers Donatello’s Bronze David revolving around two interrelated binary tensions. One is in sexual dimension - masculinity versus femininity. The other is a political opposition of tyranny versus democracy.
The bronze statue of David first strikes its audience as being effeminate and homoerotic. The subject is a naked, less muscular, beautiful boy “in its combination of sinewy angularity...
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