Jumping for David

Photos of David by Sacha.

 

The man about town (Florence) is David.

And oh what a man.

Young. Well built. I hadn't seen him up close in over thirty years nevertheless my older eyes found him equally as handsome now as they did back then. David has been and is contemporary, a man for all seasons.

 

David is Michelangelo's masterpiece that begun 1501, sculpted marble, it represents the biblical figure of David, who killed Goliath with a stone from his slingshot.

 

 

 

"From Marble to Flesh"

 

Michelangelo was 26 years old when he sculpted David, at that time Michelangelo was the most famous, plus the best paid artist in his day. David took over two years to create, and is one of his most stunning masterpieces.

“It was midnight, May 14th, and the Giant was taken out of the workshop. They even had to tear down the archway, so huge he was. Forty men were pushing the large wooden cart where David stood protected by ropes, sliding it through town on trunks. The Giant eventually got to Signoria Square on June 8th 1504, where it was installed next to the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio, replacing Donatello’s bronze sculpture of Judith and Holofernes.” Luca Landucci, herbalist and diarist living nearby, wrote down the exceptional event of the transport in his chronicles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 "... No sooner had the Philistine started forward to confront David than David darted out of the lines and ran to meet the Philistine. Putting his hand in his bag, he took out a stone, slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead; the stone penetrated his forehead and he fell face downwards on the ground."   1 Samuel

 

 

 

 

Timeless wonder and awe.

 

 

 

 

 

"Note the watchful eyes with carved eye bulks, pulsing veins on the back of the hands, engorged with tension. Admire the curve of the taut torso, the flexing of the thigh muscles in the right leg." Via the Museum.

 

 

Here we hare hanging with David.

 

Photo Via: My long time friend Christina who has lived in Florence for over twenty years. If you need a tour guide Christina is an official tour guide of Italy, more so is an art historian of renaissance art:

Christina Tour Guide of Florence and beyond

 

 

 

Chelsea:

Jumping for David.

 

 

 

 

 

Sacha:

If David could jump.

 

 

 

French Husband:

David would not be afraid of you.

 

 

 

 

And me in which David would say,

"You call that a jump?"

 

...

 

 

 

Comments

[Diogenes]

The stone David has the gift of eternal youth doesn't he?

What a masterpiece...but, if I was Donatello, and my bronze got demoted, I would be jealous. The picture of just the legs and hand is so wonderful because you can see how accurate the sculpture is to life.

[dee]

Just have to say...love your outfit. You look so CHIC ! David would be smitten :) (no worries, FH can hold his own !!)

[tammyCA]

It just blows my mind how blocks of marble were hand chiseled to perfection..these extraordinary artists! I always wish I had a time machine to watch the process..and, I'm bummed that I've never been to Italy (someday, I sure hope). Thanks for sharing your holiday adventures. :)

[Kiki]

Corey, this post makes me so happy. I've been undying in love with this David since I have studied him in DETAIL when I visited Florence. Everything about him is just so perfect, the scale and details of Michelangelo's work is out of this world. It seems that the old masters knew a bit or three about perspectives and stuff. At the time of my visit (3wks crash course of Italian - which I love more than French) I must have bought dozens of postcards of all the details and I just wondered whereto they went .... along the years of my life?!
Your jumping for joy pics are priceless and I'm immensely jealous of your four being able to take a holiday.... adult children going on a trip with their parents, bliss!
Writing this, I look over to a gently frozen plain with three beautifu horses blowing steam in the cold air, to my right there is a beautiful little wood, next to my hand a jar of honey and an espresso cup (empty) - I'm a happy girl....
And yes, your outfit is SO YOU... lovely, cheerful, gives the person seeing you a smile!
ENJOY - LA VITA E COSI BELLA :)

[French la Vie]

"eternal youth" that is it. David doesn't age. Christina our friend said, that David no matter what period in time, back in the 1500s, the 1800s, or even now he still looks like the hunk, a youthful lad, he doesn't age.

[French la Vie]

Thanks Dee! My coat/cape Yann bought it for me for Christmas a few years ago. My hat I bought in Ireland with Carrie, my gloves were made by Claire who reads my blog and is the most generous of souls, and my dress is from COS, or as my family says, 'At last it isn't black but puke green, really mom!"

[French la Vie]

I agree just to go back and watch. One solid piece of marble... the calculation alone!

[French la Vie]

" a gently frozen plain with three beautifu horses blowing steam in the cold air, to my right there is a beautiful little wood, next to my hand a jar of honey and an espresso cup (empty)" Heaven is where we find it. Best to find it where we are. Beautifully said Kiki!

[Gracie]

How wonderful you get to spend time together, just the family....great! have a nice time in Italy.

[Charland]

And jumping for Joy for the pure wonder of it all.

[La Contessa]

YOU LOOK ADORABLE!
Love this...............of course YOU are in my old stomping GROUNDS!I wonder if your friend knows my friend CINDY NESTI who also is a tour guide there.............
I need to go back and WALK the CITY.............food for my soul!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
XO

[Marilyn]

Well hello there David! Love the crystal ball with Sacha and your jumping photos too.

[Jan]

"hanging with David" Too funny. You are all so cute.

[Rebecca from the pacific northwest]

Your little teeny cheerful jump was perfect.

I remember being 22, having only seen photos of this sculpture, being in Florence and Europe for the first-ever time, and getting to WALK ALL THE WAY AROUND this David, totally wowed by the sculpture and the beauty of him. And his nice bum. Seriously, that's what impressed me most. (Thanks Sacha for the great photo of it here; I was concerned that, like the Pieta at St Peter's, they wouldn't let the public all the way around him anymore. Nice pic.) I used to look for veins in men's arms, admiringly calling them "David veins." Now I'm married to my own marvelous David. But I still like looking at this young fella.