In supporting his contention of a homoerotic relation between David and Goliath, Shearman has drawn attention to the significance of David’s name: “David: fortis manu, sive desiderabilis” (23, n.19). He is desired and beloved, but by whom? Depending on one’s perspective, there seems, at first glance, to be but two choices: David is loved either by Goliath/Donatello, as Shearman claims, or by the spectator. But what if the spectator himself is asked to change his own perspective to experience David as the beloved from some alternate, radically transformed perspective? Shearman’s interpretation assumes in fact some fixed, optical viewpoint from which to engage in a more personal manner the meaning of the work. Might it not be the case that Donatello invites the spectator to alter his perspective, both temporally and spatially, and, thus, spiritually, in response to an intentionally designed movement in the form itself?
