{"id":143,"date":"2016-09-23T19:31:34","date_gmt":"2016-09-23T19:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/?p=143"},"modified":"2018-02-07T17:05:35","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T17:05:35","slug":"things-to-know-about-david","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/2016\/09\/23\/things-to-know-about-david\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to Know About David"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\"dsc_2059\"<\/a>You probably recognize David<\/em> as one of the world\u2019s most famous statues. But do you know these interesting tidbits:<\/p>\n

1. DAVID<\/em> IS 512 YEARS OLD<\/strong>
\nMichelangelo sculpted David<\/em> from 1501 to 1504. \u00a0He was only 26 years old when he started the masterpiece and he finished before he was 30 years old!
\nAnother fun fact – David<\/em>\u00a0received\u00a0a “spruce up” bath just before turning 500 years old.<\/p>\n

2. HE RESIDES IN FLORENCE, ITALY<\/strong>
\nThe Galleria dell\u2019Accademia has been David’s<\/em> home since 1873.
\nTIP: Save money by buying your ticket\/s from the official website<\/a>. \u00a0Or pay more to skip the line<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. DAVID<\/em> IS GIANT<\/strong>
\nHe is as tall a giraffe, nearly 17 feet tall, and weighs as much as an elephant, approximately 6-tons!<\/p>\n

4. HE WAS MADE FROM ABANDONED, FLAWED MARBLE<\/strong>
\nTwo sculptors worked on the marble block then discarded it outside for more than 25 years prior to Michelangelo’s commission.<\/p>\n

5. DAVID<\/em> IS A RELIGIOUS STATUE<\/strong>
\nHe represents the biblical hero David before the boy engaged in battle with Goliath the giant. Originally the statue was to be placed on the roofline of the Florence Cathedral. It is believed David<\/em> was too big to be lifted and\/or too grand to be displayed so high. Instead the statue was placed outside at Palazzo della Signoria from 1504 to 1873, where he became a political symbol. David<\/em> was positioned to face towards Rome, signifying that more powerful rivals would not threaten Florence.<\/p>\n

THINGS TO PONDER:<\/span><\/strong>
\n 1. ARE DAVID’S<\/em> PUPILS HEART SHAPED?<\/strong>
\n\"dsc_2069\"<\/a>They certainly appear to be heart shaped. Is this simply Michelangelo’s technique or is there meaning behind the hearts?<\/p>\n

2. WHY ARE DAVID’S<\/em> RIGHT HAND AND HEAD OUT OF PROPORTION?<\/strong>
\n\"davids-head-and-hands\"<\/a>Since the\u00a0statue was to sit at the Cathedral’s roofline, it’s possible Michelangelo accentuated these areas. Or perhaps his hand was\u00a0enhanced because\u00a0David was commonly said to be of \u201cManu fortis\u201d (strong hand in Latin).<\/p>\n

3. SPEAKING OF HANDS, IS DAVID<\/em> A SOUTHPAW?<\/strong>
\n\"Version<\/a>David<\/em>\u00a0is holding the sling in his left hand, which would indicate he is left-handed. But his stance suggests\u00a0he might be right-handed.<\/p>\n

4. WHY IS A TREE STUMP ATTACHED TO HIS LEG?
\n<\/strong>\"dsc_2074\"<\/a>Tree stumps were often used in Renaissance sculpture provide balance.\u00a0 Side note – originally\u00a0both the sling and the stump were covered in gold leaf.<\/p>\n

5. HOW COME DAVID IS NOT CIRCUMCISED AND WHY IS “HE” SO SMALL?<\/strong>\"dsc_2076\"<\/a>There is quite a bit of controversy on the web about David\u2019s<\/em> nether region. Since biblical David was an Israelite (Jewish), he would have been circumcised. \u00a0But Michelangelo’s David<\/em> does not appear to be circumcised. \u00a0Is this because uncircumcised men were so common in Renaissance art? \u00a0Or is David<\/em> circumcised more slight than how a modern day circumcision looks?
\nAs for the size concern, could it be “small” because biblical David was a boy? \u00a0Or because Renaissance art was influenced by Greek art and in Ancient Greece a small penis was seen as a sign of nobility and cultural superiority? \u00a0Could it be because the standard for beauty in the Greece classical era was the prepubescent male? \u00a0Or, as some suggest, could it be that David’s body is tense for battle?<\/p>\n

6. WHY DO DAVID’S FEET LOOK LIKE THEY NEED A PEDICURE?<\/strong>
\n\"dsc_2066\"<\/a>In 1991 a mad man attacked David<\/em> with a hammer, breaking the second toe of his left foot. \u00a0Luckily all the fragments were collected after the attack and the toe was reconstructed.
\nRecently, David’s weak ankles made worldwide news. \u00a0Many are concerned that micro-fractures will literally make David<\/em>\u00a0tumble down.<\/p>\n

7. IS DAVID POSITIONED AS MICHELANGELO INTENDED?<\/strong>
\n\"dsc_2070\"<\/a>Most photos of David<\/em> show him full frontal. \u00a0But it is believed that his face was intended to look the viewer straight in the eye.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You probably recognize David as one of the world\u2019s most famous statues. But do you know these interesting tidbits: 1. DAVID IS 512 YEARS OLD Michelangelo sculpted David from 1501 to 1504. \u00a0He was only 26 years old when he started the masterpiece and he finished before he was 30 years old! Another fun fact – David\u00a0received\u00a0a “spruce up” bath just before turning 500 years […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":113,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-florence","category-italy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261,"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143\/revisions\/261"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lodgingassistants.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}