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As Il Gigante
The world's most famous statue after Lady Liberty, Michelangelo's David has suffered
some hard knocks since it was completed in 1504. The artist worked over 30 months
for a mere 400 florins (roughly $50,000 today)—and when the official committee couldn't
agree where to erect it, Michelangelo suggested it be placed in front of the Palazzo
Vecchio in Signoria Square, with full public access. It was an admirably democratic
gesture, but Michelangelo hadn't taken into account the violence of Florentine politics,
let alone the effects of wild Italian weather.
As Il Gigante (The Giant) was moved into position in 1504—it took three weeks to
shift the monolith, using a purpose-built scaffold on wheels—angry demonstrators
pelted it with stones. The affront was not an act of art criticism; the triumphant
David was seen to symbolize the recent victory of the Florentine Republic over the
deposed Medici family, so pro-Medici factions decide to make a rowdy statement.
Then, in 1512, lightning struck the base. In 1527, during another of Florence's
many riots, a wooden bench tossed from a window of the Palace hit the statue and
broke off David's lower left arm. A couple of young art students gathered up the
pieces for safe keeping, which were eventually replaced.
David stood exposed but unmolested for the next three centuries, until in 1873 it
was apparent that the elements were taking their toll on the statue's surface. The
city finally decided to move David to a purpose-built gallery within the Accademia
delle Belle Arti (the Florentine Academy of Fine Arts), where it now stands, suffused
by warm light. A recent cleaning has even restored its 16th-century marble sheen.
(A splendid marble replica today stands on the original spot in the Piazza della
Signoria, causing bottlenecks of snapshot-taking tourists moving between the square
and the Uffizi).
But even the move to the Accademia did not protect David against the lunatic fringe.
In 1991, a crazed Italian artist, protesting Florence's excessive reverence for
the past, smuggled a hammer into the building and attacked the statue, managing
to shatter a big toe before he was apprehended.
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