Michelangelo is one of the most unchangingly and utterly famous artists in all of art history. He is known all over the globe and tales of his brilliance and eccentricity are legendary. Born in the fifteenth century, he was a true Renaissance man: a Florentine sculptor, painter, poet, architect and engineer.
Prodigiously talented and an obsessively hard worker, he has left behind some of the greatest works of art that the world has ever known. However, one of the single most famous and iconic of his works has to be his David. If you are an art lover that has found a luxury villa in Florence, a pilgrimage to this beloved work is a must!
Prodigiously talented and an obsessively hard worker, he has left behind some of the greatest works of art that the world has ever known. However, one of the single most famous and iconic of his works has to be his David. If you are an art lover that has found a luxury villa in Florence, a pilgrimage to this beloved work is a must!
Created between 1501 and 1504, this marble work measures 5.17m in height and depicts the nude figure of the Biblical hero David. Originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to placed on the roofline of the east end of the Duomo, the piece never actually ended up there and, instead, was placed in the Palazzo Vecchio, in front of the Piazza della Signoria, the seat of civic government in Florence.
The David came to take on a life of its own and became a symbol for the defence of the civil liberties of the Florence, which, at the time, was threatening to go from an independent city-state to a monarchy, under the Medici.
Today, a cast of the work still stands int he piazza but the real sculpture is now located inside the Galleria dell'Accademia, where it has been since the 19th century. Here, it is protected from the elements, theft or other damages.
Michelangelo's David stood out from earlier depictions of the figure; shown before the battle, tense and ready for combat, rather than victorious and relaxed. The monumental size and this tenseness of the form allowed the sculptor to show off his mastery of the human form and the ideal and muscular figure has lingered in the hearts of critics, art lovers and the public since it was unveiled. It is a symbol of strength and youthful beauty.
Iconic for a reason, it is one of the works of art that everyone should see with their own eyes before they die.
The David came to take on a life of its own and became a symbol for the defence of the civil liberties of the Florence, which, at the time, was threatening to go from an independent city-state to a monarchy, under the Medici.
Today, a cast of the work still stands int he piazza but the real sculpture is now located inside the Galleria dell'Accademia, where it has been since the 19th century. Here, it is protected from the elements, theft or other damages.
Michelangelo's David stood out from earlier depictions of the figure; shown before the battle, tense and ready for combat, rather than victorious and relaxed. The monumental size and this tenseness of the form allowed the sculptor to show off his mastery of the human form and the ideal and muscular figure has lingered in the hearts of critics, art lovers and the public since it was unveiled. It is a symbol of strength and youthful beauty.
Iconic for a reason, it is one of the works of art that everyone should see with their own eyes before they die.
Photo credit: Jörg Bittner Unna / CC BY 3.0