Florence, Italy: Tour Journal
I added Florence, Italy to my tour list because, well, how could I not? It’s a mecca of art history for Western civilization. It’s home to ‘The David’, the birth place of Leonardo da Vinci, the place the first piano was invented, and according to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), it’s home to 1/3 of the world’s art treasures.
I came to see these art treasures in person, including ‘The David’ by Michelangelo, the ‘The Birth of Venus’ by Botticelli, and whatever else I could find in Florence.
The line to see ‘The David’ was huge though. It was over 2 hours of wait time just to to get in the building. Eventually, however, I did arrive. And there it was, The David. Similar to da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa', ‘The David’ draws a large crowd at all times of day… When I was a kid I remember seeing pictures of The David, and thinking how creepy it was. Why is he naked? Why is this sculpture significant? However, after studying lots of art history, I was able to discover that there were a lot of reasons for The David’s fame.
For one, when Michelangelo began sculpting The David, he used a block of marble that had already been deemed too full of ‘taroli’ (imperfections), by two other previous artists. In fact, it had been sitting around for 25 years already before he began working on it. The David, of course is based on the character, ‘David’ from the bible story of ‘David and Goliath’ in 1 Samuel.
In this book, the Israelites are facing destruction from the Philistines. The Philistines champion is Goliath, a giant of a man, who twice a day for 40 days walks out to the center line between armies and shouts insults to the Isrealites, asking for them to find a man worthy of fighting him. The Israelites are scared, and no man believes he is capable of defeating this giant. Only David, a young shepherd boy, accepts the challenge to face the giant.
The king tries to give him all of his armor to wear into battle, but it’s too heavy. Rather than wearing the armor, he goes out to select five stones from a nearby brook for his sling. When he later faces Goliath, he slings the stone, striking him in the forehead, and killing him on impact. He runs over, uses Goliath’s own sword, and cuts off his head. The Philistines are scared, retreat, and the Israelite’s win the battle.
A seemingly notable part of that story is that even though David was far outmatched by Goliath, he trusted God, and was able to overcome the odds. It’s a story from the bible of God using the weak to lead the strong.
Anyway, Michelangelo chose to depict David differently than artists before him. Before Michelangelo, most other artists had depicted David in form after he had already slain the giant. Michelangelo, however, chose portrays David in a pensive pose before battle.
For two full years Michelangelo worked in secrecy on this project, until it’s unveiling in January of 1504. Since then, The David has been a symbol of perfection, liberty, and the freedom of Republican ideals.
For me, it was super cool to see it in person, but I was more impressed by some of Michelango’s lesser known sculptures, near the front of the museum. ‘The Slave’ sculptures are situated only a few yards away from The David, but have received much less admiration. There are four of them: “The Awakening Slave”, “The Young Slave”, “The Bearded Slave” and “The Atlas (or Bound)” They look unfinished, and in progress.
They evoke the enormous strength of the creative concept as they try to free themselves from the bonds and physical weight of the marble.
- Academia Gallery in Florence
In all four of these sculptures, you can see portions of human beings appearing as if they are attempting to free themselves from the rock. It is not known for sure whether these are just unfinished sculptures, or if Michelangelo intended for them to be complete as they are. The Academia Galleria (the gallery that displays The David), seems to believe it was intentional. In a statement on their website they said:
It is now claimed that the artist deliberately left them incomplete to represent this eternal struggle of human beings to free themselves from their material trappings.
- Academia Gallery in Florence
Whatever the case, when I looked at these sculptures, something resonated with me. I felt like I was in the middle of chipping away at my own stones in life that had been trapping me. I could feel myself pushing back against who I felt I was ‘supposed to be’, and learning to carve my own path. I was learning that perfection is not necessary, that it’s okay to feel as if you’re left without clarity, and unfinished…
Sources:
https://www.aroundrometours.com/30-interesting-facts-about-florence-italy-art42-uid1.htm
http://www.accademia.org/explore-museum/artworks/michelangelos-prisoners-slaves/
1 Samuel of The Bible