My jaw dropped almost to the floor when I first saw it in 1985! So gigantic, so impressive, so smooth and polished that I was awestruck! Then the tour guide started to talk about it and I was somewhat deflated!
"Actually this is not one of Michelangelo's best sculptures, he was so young (in his mid twenties when it was begun) and inexperienced. The hands and head are drastically out of proportion with the rest of The David's body!" She said.
Now here I was 32 years later staring up at the David again, only this time it was a replica cast in bronze which was standing outside of a foundry not far from my home. It was time for me to learn a little bit more about the David and to re-examine what that tour guide had told me all of those years ago!
Here is the bronze David that got me reflecting on the proportions of the iconic original!
Here you can see that this really is a full size bronze replica just waiting to be delivered. All 5 feet of 
Is The David Really Out of Proportion?
The David is easily the most famous and recognizable sculpture in the world and has been lauded for centuries as Michelangelo's masterpiece. Upon examining it however one really does note that the head and hands are far too big for the rest of the body!
The real statue sits in the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence. Photo pixabay.com
Several Explanations Have Been Put Forward For This Disproportion
- Michelangelo knew that it would be viewed from the ground and he was adjusting for the eyes perception of their size from a distance
- During the Middle Ages David was called "manu fortis" or strong of hand and this was in homage to that fact!
- It is in recognition of the fact that a growing boy is gangly and often out of proportion!
Whether or not these explanations are plausible, and I have my doubts about them, is of little importance to me. I am still mesmerized by what Micehelangelo sculpted from a single block of marble and I look forward to visiting it again in Florence in the future!
Did You Know?
- It was started in 1501 and completed in 1504
- The single block of marble that it was chiseled from was unwanted and had twice been rejected by other sculptors after they found it too difficult to work with!
- It was originally intended to sit on the roof-line of Florence's cathedral dome but when its commissioners saw its beauty they put it where it could be observed from close up!
- Michelangelo was already famous for his sculpture of the Pieta when he created it but it was The David that gained him the reputation as a master sculptor at the age of 29!
- Giorgio Vasari, the 16th century painter said of the David: "Whoever has seen this work need not trouble to see any other work executed in sculpture, either in our own or in other times." Not bad for a statue that is out of proportion!
- The original David is in a museum but a full size replica is placed in its first and intended home which is in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. A bronzed replica is also stationed on a perch on Piazzale Michelangelo.
- With 8 million people visiting it a year all of their moving about amounts to the equivalent of tiny earthquakes which are slowly damaging the marble!
What About You?
- Do you find The David to be stunning?
- Have you ever seen the real statue?
- Are you amazed that it comes from a single block of marble?
I hope that you enjoyed reading "The David, is it Really Out of Proportion?"
Until next time,
Until next time,
