Michelangelo's David
Antonio Borri, professor of construction engineering at Perugia University, has warned that Michelangelo's David is at risk of collapse. The statue was cleaned and cracks repaired for its 500th anniversary in 2004, but the cracks have reappeared. Prof. Borri, who is part of the team monitoring David's condition, blames traffic vibrations and the pressure of thousands of daily visitors. The 16ft-high statue of David - the world's most famous shepherd - was commissioned by the Florence guild of wool merchants in 1501. If the inferior marble Michelangelo used does give way, the V&A Museum in London has a cast of this masterpiece, taken in 1856 (CLICK).
posted by Unknown @ 21.9.08
4 comments
4 Comments:
Well perhaps they will commission a better one, let's hope so!
Hi, Robert
There's an updated one doing the rounds. See Yankee David, posted today.
Not quite what I had in mind but it is a hoot!
As you know I am not a great fan of of Mich's David!
It's not his best work. I love his Pieta with the dead Christ draped across her lap. She has the face of an angel, for which he was heavily criticized at the time, because how can such a young girl have been the mother of Christ? And her body is massive, out of all proportion, but it needs to be to carry the corpse. And it works.
Michelangelo played all sorts of tricks with size and perspective. Have you actually stood in front of David (the V&A cast or the original) and gazed up at it? It's usually photographed from a distance and the lower hand looks out of proportion, but that's a clever trick to increase its size when you stand close looking up at it. That huge hand makes you feel very small.
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