I’m reading a biography of Michealangelo and last night read a few pages about the creation of the “David” statue. I’ve been familiar with the image (who isn’t?) but last night I really considered the unbelievable skill that it took to take a block of marble and create that work of art. The power, athleticism, grace,and eroticism in the piece is damn near overwhelming. Have any Dopers been to the Galleria dell’Academia in Florence and actually seen this piece close up? I’d like to hear your impressions.
My impressions at the time: “gee that thing is big”…
Ha. This actually reminds me of a time maybe a year or two after I saw The David and I said that exact sentence and everybody thought I was saying, “gee that thing is bid” (as in, the thing on The David, not the statue itself. Everyone laughed at me. Just another of my traumatic childhood experiences. Thought I’d share.
Anyways, yeah, I was a little young to apriciate it at the time, but it certainly was impressive. This immense statue that actually looks like a person. I’m a guy who has trouble making stick figures look right, and here’s a 3D person who, with a little bit of fairy dust or something could get up and start walking.
I saw it a few years ago. It’s amazing. I can’t describe what the experience was like, except to say it was awe-inspiring. I had real trouble leaving the museum even though I had to get to class – it was that powerful. Seeing pictures of The David is simply insufficient; it really is that magnificent.
Someone posted recently a story that he was carved as the result of a bet - something to do with having a statue with a 9-inch penis out in full view and having no uproar about it. (I’m pretty sure the story was referring to David, even though it didn’t say so.) Well, his penis might be 9 inches long but since he’s 19 feet tall, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, my impression was that poor David was somewhat cheated in the “bigger is better” contest. Proportionally, his penis appears to be about 4 inches long. Not that I was really looking or anything.
It is a beautiful sculpture. You can practically see the muscles flexing beneath the marble skin.
Yes, I too have seen the David, and that was my thought - “gee, that’s big!” (meaning the whole statue - not the penis). I think you tend to assume from photos in art books that the statue is life-sized, since unless you add the “Look, there’s Mom next to the David” or some other tourist to the shot, you can’t tell how big he is.
The thing that I noted about the statue (okay, I picked it up in a tour guide or something) is that other sculptors who did their own David’s (for example, Bernini - which I saw in Rome, I think) were sort of “in-action” David’s where David is throwing the rock, whereas Michaelangelo’s David is in repose and the rock-sling thing is de-emphasized and you concentrate more on his…David-ness, I guess. Ida know.
Hell, I’m gay - you see a gorgeous 19-foot tall naked man and it just tends to be awe-inspiring, even if he doesn’t talk too good or really have much of a personality.
I’ve been to Florence a few times in the past couple years, and I have to say that a trip to the Accademia is a must (some of Michelangelo’s Slaves are in there too). The David is in its own room, which really lets the guy show off his stuff. Appreciate the tension (as in the muscles missbunny mentions), the power (check out the disproportionately large, stylized hands and feet), and the emotion of the sculpture. You might also be intrigued to realize that it was so entirely novel to depict David before his big fight with Goliath (for a point of comparison: while you’re in Florence, you’ll want to head over to the Bargello museum to take a peek at Donatello’s 2 Davidi, one each in bronze and marble, that were the artistic forefathers of big Mike’s famous work).
All in all, a masterpiece on all levels! And if you want to save your 10,000 lira or whatever Accademia admission is running these days, there’s a replica in the Plaza della Signoria that attracts hordes of tourists waiting for their Uffizi tickets.
Without a doubt an amazing piece of art. I’m always the most impressed by the hands.
I’m going to be a little bit of a wet blanket, I know, but I have to mention that I have always been a little disappointed that it’s in a museum, and not in the open air. I know that it’s necessary to save it from pollution and vandals and art thieves, and I know they have a copy of it in the Piazza della Signoria (but don’t get me started on the copy in the Piazzalle Michaelangelo), so I’m not advocating that it be moved back to its original location or anything. I guess I just wistfully regret that I will never see it as it was meant to be seen, in the very heart of the city of Florence. One of the truly great things about Florence is that really incredible art was a vital part of the fabric of public life in the city.
Eve, that was pretty much what Michealangelo said when asked about his art. His take on the whole process was that the work was encased in rock, and all he had to do was free it from the confines. Were it that easy.
And you know what they say about men with big hands and big feet…they wear big gloves and big shoes.
You’re joking, but that’s in fact exactly how Michelangelo viewed his work. His analogy was to compare sculpting to sitting in a bathtub full of water, then pulling the plug. As the water recedes, it “reveals” your body as it appears from the water – just as his works emerged from the marble as he removed the excess marble.
Which is a much more genteel interpretation of the craft than others made, including Leonardo da Vinci, who considered sculpture too blue-collar and “dirty” compared to painting.
<-----Thinks that Eve knew the source of her remark.
I’ve seen the copy in Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Isn’t it supposed to be exact?
Anyway, it was impressive there, to say the least, despite the fact that it was in the sleaziest city on the planet. Someday I would love to go and see the original. Displaying the David in LV seems sacriligeous somehow.
There’s a reproduction outside the Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park, CA. While I don’t generally go near such places, since they converted the free-standing gift shop into a Starbuck’s, and it’s the one most convenient to me, I have had several opportunities to view it up close. To be honest, I can’t recall whether it’s a full-scale reproduction or not (I tend to think not, as the penis, to my memory, is closer to six inches than nine). But I’m mystified by one aspect.
Why is the king of Israel uncircumcised (no Tug-Ahoy jokes, please)?
Delphica, to further burst your wet blanket (heh), the statue was actually ORIGINALLY meant to decorate the Duomo, commissioned by the wool merchants’ guild, and sticking it in the Palazzo Vechhio piazza was something that was decided after it was already finished. So it was “meant” to be seen at the top of a buttress in a little niche 40 feet up or something.
Funny. It reminds of a comment made by a guy (also gay) I used to work with.
“I’m not impressed with Michaelangelo’s David. I think the hands are too big and the penis is too small.”
Unfortunately, whenever I think of this great sculpture, that comment springs to mind. Maybe if I actually saw it IRL instead of photos or on TV, I’d feel differently.
Now, can we talk about the Venus de Milo’s hooters? What are they, A cup? B? Discuss.
I saw it on my Honeymoon. I had gone to the Uffizi and loved it but my wife wanted to stroll the city. I was reading The Agony and the Ecstasy at the time and was entranced by the David sequence, so I convinced my wife to come around. She didn’t regret it. Because everyone’s familiar with the iconic part of the piece (the form), very few people mention the depth of feeling in the face. It’s not just some vacant stare or mythic visage, but something much deeper and more personal, and seeing it in person and in scale was a true thrill.
IIRC, there is also a plaster duplicate of it (as well as dozens of other famous Italian sculptures) in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
I’ve never seen David, but in a strange coincidence, when I saw the Venus De Milo in Paris one of the first things I thought was: “Man, she got some big feet!”. You can’t see them in most pictures but sticking out from under her robe/toga are some honking big dogs. Was this like a classical style or something?
Oh and to answer DAVEW0071’s question, I would say they are about a B cup. It’s hard to judge seeing as she is a little on the large side herself (I mean height-wise, not body type).