David by Michelangelo, 1501-1504 Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, Italy

In 1501 Michelangelo was commissioned to create the David by the Arte Della Lana (Guild of Wool Merchant), who were responsible for the upkeep and decoration of the Cathedral in Florence. For this purpose, he was given a block of marble, which Agostino de Duccio had already attempted to fashion forty years previously, perhaps with the same subject in mind. Michelangelo breaks away fro the traditional way of representing David. He does not present us with the winner, the giant';s heat at his feet and the powerful sword in his hand, but portrays the youth in the phase immediately preceding the battle at that moment he decided to engage Goliath. The right - hand side of the statue is smooth and composed while the left side, from the outstretched foot all the way up to the disheveled hair is openly active and dynamic. The slingshot he caries over his shoulder is almost invisible, emphasizing that David';s victory was one of cleverness, not sheer force. The muscles and the tendons are developed only to the point where they can still be interpreted as the perfect instrument for a strong will, and not to the point of becoming individual self-governing forms. A replica of the statue now stands in the original location of David in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy.

15.5 x 4.25 x 4.25 : bonded stone