The block was called "the Giant." Quarried 1464. Roughed out by Agostino di Duccio (gave up). Handed to Rossellino (gave up). Lay in a yard for 25 years. In 1501 Michelangelo, 26, took it. Worked 2 years behind a screen. When revealed September 8, 1504, Florence saw something new: marble that appeared to breathe.
5.17 meters. Not a hero after victory — a man BEFORE battle. Right hand holds a stone. Left holds the sling. The head turns LEFT — toward Rome. The David was placed before the Palazzo della Signoria as a political statement: Florence the small republic facing the giants. David is Florence. The stone is defiance. The right hand is disproportionately large — the hand of God. Veins visible on the forearm. Tendons taut in the neck. The pupils are heart-shaped — visible only from above where Michelangelo expected it to be seen.
The Prisoners (Prigioni): 4 unfinished Michelangelo figures in the gallery leading to the David — bodies emerging from rough marble. Michelangelo believed the figure was ALREADY inside the stone. His job: remove what didn't belong. These unfinished works prove it — you see the marble resisting, the figures trapped. The most powerful argument for genius ever made — precisely because they're NOT finished.
Via Ricasoli 58/60. €16. Pre-book galleriaaccademiafirenze.it (2-4 weeks ahead summer). Tue-Sun 8:15-18:50. Closed Mon. 1 hour. Florence →