David (Michelangelo)
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David is a statue that was made between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo. It is a statue of King David from the Bible, when he was about to thrown a stone at Goliath. It is made of marble and is 17 feet tall.
The statue is considered to be a symbol of the Florentine Republic and is Michaelangelo's most famous work. It is often called The David.
Contents |
[edit] Making the statue
From about 1464 men who were members of the Wool Guild wanted to have twelve statues of people from the Old Testament version of the Bible. These statues were to go on the buttresses of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. Two statues had already been made by Donatello and his assistant, Agostino di Duccio. Duccio was asked to create David and got as far as making the statue's feet, chest and a hole between the legs. Duccio, however, stopped making the statue when his master, Donatello, died in 1466. Another stulptor called Antonio Rossellino started to finish the statue, but then stopped after two years. The statue of David then remained unfinished for 25 years and was left in the cathedral workshop where it was getting damaged by the weather. Michelangelo began working on David on September 13, 1501. It was finished on September 8, 1504.
[edit] Where the statue was placed
When it was finished the statue was placed in front of the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio. During 1873 it was moved to the Accademia Gallery in Florence to protect it from damage. The statue currently attracts many visitors to the Accademia Gallery.
[edit] Damage to the statue
In 1991 the statue of David was attacked by a person with a hammer. Damage was done to the toes of the left foot before the person with the hammer could be stopped.
[edit] See also
The following are other statues by Michelangelo:
