Verrocchio's David

Having posted blogs on two of the four greatest statues of David, I might as well go the whole hog and make it a Davids' week. So here is my favourite: Andrea del Verrocchio's The Young David (1473-75). Why this one? For me, this statue of a slim youth wearing an antique battle kilt captures my mental image of the lad who brought down Goliath with a slingshot. Michelangelo's David is a huge Apollo - a Greco-Roman god to worship -, not a David. Donatello's David is an effete nude wearing a silly hat which would have got the raspberry from the troops. And Bernini's David, which is the most dynamic and powerful of the four, looks too mature and muscular (title link). All four are magnificent works of art, but for me Verrocchio sticks closest to the plot.