World History
Related: About this forumThe 17-foot-tall, 12,000-pound marble masterpiece by Michelangelo Buonarroti, was unveiled
to the public in Florence on "ThisDayInHistory" in 1504. “David” was carved from a single block of white Italian Carrara marble that was rejected by other artists for being flawed.
A committee of artists decided on the statue’s location, outside Florence’s town hall. It reportedly took 40 men 4 days to move the massive statue half a mile from Michelangelo’s studio to the piazza.
In 1873, after almost 400 years, “David” was moved indoors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo)
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Response to elleng (Original post)
ZZenith This message was self-deleted by its author.
dchill
(41,346 posts)...not to mention a work of work!
LudwigPastorius
(11,663 posts)That’ll cause some serious chapping in sensitive areas.
Sky Jewels
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LudwigPastorius
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Sky Jewels
(8,857 posts)I love that gif. Beaker!
I actually Googled "why do statues like Michelangelo's David have small penises?" The answer is that they were influenced by Greek art, and in ancient Greek culture small penises were considered better than larger ones because they were a sign of being a civil, intelligent person and not a brutish, animalistic type of guy.
https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/why-the-ancient-greeks-didn-t-make-a-big-deal-of-penis-size-1.3953929
Michelangelo’s David’s is, for instance, surprisingly small. One reason is that in ancient Greece, which is the inspiration and source for a great deal of Renaissance art, a large penis wasn’t something to shout about. Instead, a smaller size was associated with good citizenry and intellectual pursuits. Scholars have also posited that Michelangelo, ever keen on exactitude, created his David diminished due to the natural fear of facing off against Goliath.
ggma
(711 posts)I was fifteen and the book claimed that he looked at the block of marble and could see the sculpture; it's why his hip is canted and his arm is up - to accommodate the flaw in the block. Great book.
gg