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By mikem@thecolumbiastar.com | on June 23, 2022

Michelangelo created David from a single block of stone in three years, 1501–1504.

On our first day in Florence, the first thing we did was go to the Galleria dell’ Accademia to see Michelangelo’s David. We walked briskly hoping to beat the crowds. Our tour guide had tickets for us, but even so, we had to stand in line for 30 minutes. Gypsy vendors and roving musicians entertained as we waited.

David, as you learned in Bible study, was a strong, healthy redhead known for his courage and his ability to write poetry. When Goliath challenged King Saul, young David volunteered to fight him with five smooth stones and a slingshot. One shot downed the giant, and the Philistines fled. Since then, David has been a symbol of courage and beauty for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.

A world–renown work of art, Michelangelo’s David began as a political statement. The rich Medici family dominated Florence for 300 years beginning in 1434. Giovanni, Cosimo, and Lorenzo controlled the wealth and power of Tuscany by keeping the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire at bay.

In 1492 (a familiar date), Lorenzo de Medici died and his successors were expelled from Florence by Savonarola, a reactionary Dominican priest. In a Bonfire of Vanities, “sacrilegious” artwork, books, clothing, and even mirrors were burned in the piazza. Savonarola lost his grip in 1498 and was hanged, his body burned in the Palazzo Vecchio.

A republic was proclaimed and 26–year–old Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned to create a symbol for the new government. The young artist had worked for Lorenzo until 1492, and then went underground studying anatomy in a local hospital. He reappeared in Rome where he gained celebrity for his Pieta, a dead Jesus lying across his mother’s lap.

Michelangelo chose a single piece of marble in 1501 and for three years used his chisel to free David from the stone. In his diary, the artist says:

“When I returned to Florence, I found myself famous. The City Council asked me to carve a colossal David from a 19– foot block of marble— and damaged to boot!

“I locked myself away in a workshop behind the cathedral, hammered and chiseled at the towering block for three long years. In spite of the opposition of a committee of fellow artists, I insisted that the figure should stand before the Palazzo Vecchio, as a symbol of our Republic. I had my way. Archways were torn down, narrow streets widened…it took 40 men five days to move it.

“Once in place, all Florence was astounded. A civic hero, he was a warning…whoever governed Florence should govern justly and defend it bravely. Eyes watchful… the neck of a bull…hands of a killer…the body, a reservoir of energy. He stands poised to strike.”

Art critics say Michelangelo used David as a model of heroic courage, a young Biblical hero demonstrating inner spiritual strength over violence.

David is represented as an athletic, manly character, very concentrated and ready to fight. His worried look portrays inner tension.

In his right hand he holds a stone. A sling rests over his left shoulder and is held gently in his left hand. Michelangelo wanted each citizen of Florence to be aware of his responsibilities and duties.

For over an hour I studied David, spellbound, carefully examining his flawless features, trying to imagine Michelangelo working to free a perfect human from a sterile block of marble. His hammering and chiseling had to be disciplined, precise, without mistake.

The finished product was moved from Piazza Vecchio in 1991 after a vandal damaged David’s toe. A replica was put in its place. The original was moved to the Galleria dell’ Accademia and cleaned in time for David’s 500th birthday in 2004.

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