O Davi de Michelangelo

Giorgio Vasari, acima de tudo, expressa brevemente a maravilha de uma das maiores obras já feitas pelo homem.

Na Galeria Accademia, os visitantes podem se sentir próximos da beleza perfeita da escultura mais famosa de Florença - e talvez até do mundo todo: O Davi de Michelangelo. Ela vem da Renascença; essa impressionante escultura foi feita entre 1501 e 1504.
É uma estátua de mármore de 2,5 metros que mostra o personagem bíblico Davi; ele fica ereto como um nu masculino. Sua encomenda foi originalmente feita pela Opera del Duomo para a Catedral de Florença; eles planejaram que essa fosse uma entre muitas estátuas grandes para preencher os nichos das tribunas da catedral, localizadas a cerca de 80 metros do nível do solo.

Os cônsules do conselho pediram a Michelangelo que concluísse o trabalho que havia sido iniciado em 1464 por Agostino di Duccio e depois passado para Antonio Rossellino em 1475.

Por fim, ambos os escultores haviam abandonado esse enorme bloco de mármore, considerando-o impróprio devido aos inúmeros "taroli", ou falhas, que colocavam em risco a estabilidade de uma estátua tão grande. Consequentemente, esse bloco de mármore, excepcionalmente grande, permaneceu intocado por vinte e cinco anos no pátio da Opera del Duomo (Conselho da Sacristia). O mármore para a estátua foi cortado nas pedreiras de Carrara, embora vários escultores florentinos tenham seguido Michelangelo até Carrara e tenham sido contratados para ajudar na transferência dos blocos de Carrara para Florença.

Quando chegaram ao seu destino, os trabalhadores locais trabalharam sem saber o que estavam fazendo até que a forma surgiu, quase que por mágica. Em 16 de agosto de 1501, a Opera del Duomo de Florença atribuiu ao Davi de Michelangelo uma ordem de pagamento de 400 ducados. Vários artistas famosos da época, incluindo Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli e Filippino Lippi, além de Perugino, decidiram em 25 de janeiro de 1504 que essa estátua deveria ser colocada na entrada do Palazzo Vecchio, simbolizando o poder e a liberdade do povo florentino.

Em 8 de setembro, sua obra foi apresentada à cidade com admiração geral. Inicialmente, alguns elementos de Davi foram dourados: entre eles, uma guirlanda no topo da cabeça (para mantê-la intacta) e um broncone atrás da perna direita (ou "bronzino"), que estava enferrujado ou comido por vermes e agora foi fundido em bronze; as fundas também foram douradas. A escultura mede 517 cm de altura e pesa cerca de 5.560 kg, estando sobre uma base intrincadamente esculpida. Periodicamente, entre 2003 e 2004, ela foi submetida à remoção de fitas e poeira para limpeza frequente e perpetuação em interesse científico.

Em 1501, com apenas 26 anos de idade, Michelangelo não era apenas o artista mais famoso, mas também o mais bem pago de toda a Itália. Acolhendo com entusiasmo a tarefa de criar um Davi colossal, ele trabalhou por mais de dois anos com afinco incessante e produziu uma de suas obras mais espetaculares: uma figura de mármore em branco deslumbrante.

The Myth of David and Goliath

The Vestry Board had set a religious theme for the statue, but no one expected this radical rendering of the biblical character.

The story of David and Goliath is told in the book of 1 Samuel. The Philistines come into conflict with the Israelites, who are led by Saul, at a point near the Valley of Elah.

Their champion, Goliath, steps out from the lines of Philistines for 40 days twice daily and challenges them to send their own champion to combat him as a resolution for single combat. Now comes forward a very young shepherd boy named David. Although Saul hesitates he finally agrees and tries to have his armor put on David, but this does not fit him; then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and went toward the Philistine So, Goliath and David faced each other with Goliath in his armor and shield in hand while David is only described as standing armed with his rock, a sling, courage and faith in God. Running towards the giant, heaving his homemade sling over his head around and around to build momentum then releasing one of the stones from its pouch loaded at the far end spirals through the air until it connects with Goliath's forehead.

Sending Goliath staggering first backward and then down to his knees before falling flat on his face allowing David to finish him by beheading the giant. Historically, David has been depicted standing over the fallen Goliath in a triumphant pose. Florentine artists such as Verrocchio, Ghiberti, and Donatello all produced their own versions of David with his foot on Goliath's severed head. Michelangelo astoundingly chooses to show David before the fight for the first time ever. He is captured here in a moment of intense focus at the very point when he first encounters Goliath, by tension yet gracefully static — contrapposto was an established classical pose meaning "against which it is placed" — with one leg taking the body's weight and an engaged leg while hips/shoulders rest at opposing angles creating subtle s-curvature through torso.

The almost invisible slingshot slung over his back tells us that David's victory came from something other than pure strength; it was an act of ingenuity. He has an extraordinary amount of self-confidence and concentration, values of a "thinking man," highly regarded during the Renaissance period.

The archive documents reveal that Michelangelo worked on the statue in dead silence, hiding his masterwork until January 1504. He worked in an open courtyard and used to get wet whenever it rained.

This might well have inspired the eccentric method of working attributed to him: he is said to have made a wax model of what he designed and then immersed this in water.

As he worked at his carving, he would let the water level go down and then, underneath different kinds of chisels, cut out what became visible.

His sleep was irregular; when he did go to sleep, he kept on even his clothes— and his boots— and scarcely ate, as recorded by his biographer Ascanio Condivi More than two years after he started working on it, Michelangelo decided to show his "Giant" to the Vestry Board members and Pier Soderini, who was gonfaloniere of the Republic at that time. In January 1504, his fourteen-foot tall David was revealed only to them, and all were of the opinion that it was too perfect for the high cathedral.

Therefore, alternative sites within the city were considered.

The city council formed a special committee of about thirty members (including some artists like Leonardo da Vinci) to decide where best to place the statue. Nine different locations were suggested amid much debate before finally being installed at one of Florence's political centers, Piazza della Signoria. Thanks to its striking perfection, the figure of David came out as a symbol of liberty and free Republican ideals, showing the readiness of Florence to defend itself. It stood in front of the Palazzo Vecchio until 1873 when it was moved to the Galleria to protect it from further decay and wear. Today, thanks to a skylight designed by Emilio de Fabris in the 19th century for this express purpose, visitors can see the David.

It unveils from up close Michelangelo: his deep knowledge of the male figure and extreme love for human anatomy. Note the watchful look with sculpted eye sockets, and veins on the back of the hands standing out with tension. See the curve of the solid midsection and muscles in the right leg tightening up. Some details show proportions that are not typical of Michelangelo. It has a very large head and a right hand in a commanding position.

Maybe these exaggerations are due to the fact that the statue was intended to be seen when placed at the roofline of the cathedral and, therefore, some key features of the sculpture had to be exaggerated for easy visibility from below. Another analysis of the broader aspects suggests that Michelangelo intentionally magnified the size of the head to denote concentration, while the right hand signified an action with a sense of purpose.