Florence Part 1 - the Statue of David and the story behind it

I am writing this in the evening of 9 May, after an amazing and very full day. Sadly, this is our last night in Venice.

After a delightful break in Siena, we were soon on the way to Florence, where again our parking was restricted.

Siena prides itself on being the first city in Europe to set up banks, which was done to cater for the needs of the pilgrims who travelled around Europe hundreds of years ago. Thanks to the well-known mathematician Fibonacci, who introduced the Arabic numbering system to Italy, an efficient ledger system was able to be established and letters of credit provided to the pilgrims, which reduced the risk they ran of highway robbery. Roman numerals could not be used because they do not include a zero.

However, for many years there was enormous rivalry between Siena and Florence, with both cities building very tall walls was around them to fend off attacks by their arch enemies. (You can still see these walls today.) The powerful Medici family of Florence, however, prevailed over Siena, and now Florence is the centre of banking. Apparently Michaelangelo, who was all for a republic, was very disturbed about the power and influence of the Medicis, and the nepotism that was rife during their rule, so in the end he left Florence, never to return again in his lifetime.

Michelangelo had been commissioned to create a large sculpture suitable for display in the big town square at the seat of government in Florence, to honour that government. But he became more and more interested in creating his David, the young Hebrew who defeated Goliath with his simple slingshot and a stone picked up off the ground. This was a metaphor for the ordinary man defeating those who abuse their power. 

Michelangelo’s stunning sculpture of David, the most beautiful work of art I have ever seen, was created from a single large block of white marble chosen in person by Michelangelo. It was finally completed and accepted and installed in the town square. There it lay for over 400 years, exposed to the elements, the pigeons and so forth, not to mention vandals (even then!). What a terrible, terrible lack of respect for and appreciation of this treasure to leave it outside for all those years! 

But finally it was moved with great care into the private art gallery attached to the School of Fine Arts belonging to the University - a very challenging operation given its incredible weight and height. There a magnificent collection of works of art had been brought together for students of painting and sculpture. (Only the most talented are accepted into the school.) While it is still attached to the school, and is closed at certain times to serve the needs of the school, the gallery was finally opened to the public - with strict controls. We all went through strict security checks before entering.   

Since this move, the sculpture has been restored by experts over a period of months, to clean and smooth over its surface and do some repair work. The worse damage that has been done to it was by a man who was ‘off his head’ and took to David’s left foot with a big hammer, irreparably crushing some toes. He went to gaol, and so he should! 

It is interesting to note, when you look at my photos of the sculpture, how cleverly Michelangelo supported David’s two ankles, which bear enormous weight and so are under enormous pressure, by resting his right leg against a part of a tree. And as our special guide pointed out, it was unusual for the time to create a man that has not been circumcised, as the real David of the Old Testament certainly would have been. There is a lot of speculation about why this was done and also about why David’s hands and feet are a little too large and out of proportion. One wonders what was in Michelangelo's mind. 

Meanwhile, a good copy of the statue was created in white marble and placed back in the town square where the original stood, and another, though not in marble, stands over the city at the lookout on the top of a hill overlooking the city. The gallery also contains some earlier work by  Michelangelo that he never completed, and his draft statue of three figures shown below. The actual statue is in the city square. There was no preliminary draft for the David masterpiece! 

Sadly, a lovely statue in the same square was severely damaged by a vandal not too long ago, whose excuse was he was drunk, and is in the process of being restored. Why is is that some people feel compelled to destroy what others took years to create, and that was so beautiful?    

An early version of a sculpture by Michelangelo; he kept changing his mind on how best to represent this moment  in marble.

THE David!

This gives you an idea of the size of the sculpture.

The sculpture from another angle; notice how the right leg was supported.

A room at the gallery in which art students study and practise sculpture.

The public square where the David was originally located.

On the left is the original of another sculpture by Michelangelo.

The copy of David in the square.

Another lovely sculpture in the square that is scheduled for restoration.

Another sculpture in the square - of one of the Medicis.

The view of Florence from the lookout.

The bronze David at the lookout.

The David towering over the city at the lookout.