The "Marblous" David

 

We have survived the holidays and now I must continue writing about our adventures in Italy and then the Mediterranean cruise we took after travelling through Italy. The last entry was about our trek to the top of the Duomo in Florence. Today, I want to focus on Michelangelo's statue of David that stands in the Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy. I was going to just post the pictures I took, but decided to do a little research, too. I am glad that I did because I learned a lot.

One thing I learned was that Michelangelo was the fourth sculptor to work on the slab of marble. The creation began in 1464, when a huge, tall but narrow block of marble was shipped to Florence. The first three artists ceased to work on this giant slab of marble because it was full of imperfections, tiny holes and small veins. In 1500 the Operai (Overseers of the Office of Works) searched for another artist to complete this statue. Michelangelo was selected at the age of 26 and finished the statue of David at age 29.

As you can tell from the picture, David is quite tall, 17 feet high, about as tall as an adult giraffe. It was supposed to be on the roof of the Florence Cathedral. Due to the size and weight (six tons), it was decided to move the statue to Palazzo Vecchio until it was moved again, inside a building to keep it protected from the elements and people. It took four days and 40 men to move David from Michelangelo's workshop to the Piazza (about half a mile).

When I take pictures of statues I like to get close ups of various parts. Here are some of the close up pictures of David. I left one out. I am sure you can figure out which one. While I am writing about this area, I can mention that when Queen Victoria received a life sized replica of David, she ordered that a  plaster fig leaf be placed over the "private parts" to protect the fragile eyes of the the young English ladies.

If you look closely you can see that the eyes are not looking exactly the same direction.  I wouldn't have noticed it if it had not been brought to my attention. What amazed me was the furrow of the brows and the expression of the eyes. I could almost feel what David was feeling as he stood ready to face the Giant Goliath. It seems to be a mixture of determination, anticipation and fearful courage.

The next two pictures are of the hand holding the stone. I so much wanted to reach over and touch that hand. It looked so real. I could almost feel the next motion of getting the sling ready.

    This is the other side of the hand holding the stone. What amazing sculpting with so much energy. 

Even when the statue was  moved into Accademia Gallery, there were still security problems. Someone was able to get close enough and damage the the toes with a hammer that he had smuggled into the museum in 1991. Now David is protected with plexiglass. There is concern with damage caused by the vibrations of footsteps with so many visitors. One more concern is caused by earthquake tremors.

                     This is the other foot. It is much smoother compared to the damaged foot.

                                                            The back shows the sling.

                                The veins in the arm show the tension that David is feeling.

           You can see the color of the marble veins that some artists felt made the marble inferior.

                                       This gives a perspective to show the size of David.

                                      This is the dome of natural light looking over David.

If you do not want to travel to Florence, Italy (although, I would suggest you do), you can see a replica of David in St. Augustine, Florida.  It was first sent to the United States for the 1964 New York World's Fair. It is carved from one block of marble from the same quarry that the marble used for the original David.

Thanks, to Bruce Thompson for letting me use his camera to take these pictures. My camera was in our lost carry on baggage. I was so thankful that Bruce let me use his camera. His camera is the same one that I have, so I knew how to use it.

Brush Teeth! No Shower!

Night Ride on a Gondola

I am floating down the narrow canals in Venice listening to the water slap against the gondola.  The gentle rocking makes my eyes heavy. It had been two sleepless nights. Slap, slap, slap, rock rock rock; the gondola silently slithers through the canal. The night sky joins in with its blanket of darkness. Slap, slap, slap, rock, rock, rock......

RING!!!  RING!!!   Who's phone is disrupting this perfect evening!! How unthoughtful.

RING!!!  RING!!!  It continued with its abrasive noise. I opened my eyes to find the culprit who owned that phone, but was greeted with a land phone sitting next to my bed! (Oh s#it, we overslept)

I answered and heard Bruce's concerned voice, "The water taxi is waiting for us now." ADRENALINE RUSH!

I don't know what I said to Ray, but he was already throwing our belongings into our packs and getting dressed at the same time. How fortunate that our luggage was still lost and we did not have to ponder on which outfit to wear. It was just the same old one. Also, how fortunate that we had showered the night before and had most of our stuff packed.

We made it to the lobby, a bit disheveled and disorientated. Michael and Ann had also overslept, and had awoken before us. But they had to do without a shower. That is what Michael said when he saw the clock.

"Brush Teeth! No Shower!" And they scurried to the lobby with clean teeth, and three day old clothes.

At the Venice Train Station. Having no luggage made it easier to travel.

Thank goodness the water taxi waited for us, and thank goodness Stephanie and Bruce did not oversleep. We made it to the train station, found our seats and were able to relax for a couple of hours for our next destination: Florence.

Our train was on time and ready for our trip to Florence.

We met a kind couple from Australia, Mark and Cynthia, while on the train.  Cynthia overheard us talking about our lost luggage and told us she had just had a similar experience. When she found out that my hat had been packed in my suitcase, she generously offered me her second hat (since she had to buy one when her luggage was lost).  

Cynthia was determined I take her hat. 

Next stop: Artists' Palace Hotel in Florence. I loved this place and want to return to spend more time there. The Artists' Palace is located in Piazza San Lorenzo right in the heart of the art and historic section of Florence. Across the street is the oldest church in Florence, The Santa Tranita. It looks so plain on the outside but inside is full of paintings, and colorful religious figures.

The Artists' Palace had at one time been a place for priests to stay, and it also hosted Leonardo da Vinci in 1508. So this place was packed with history. Here is a YouTube that I found on line about this hotel. We loved it, and want to return. I know I have said that earlier, but I really mean it. 

Here is the link. You may want to stay there, too, if you visit Florence.

https://www.artistspalaceflorence.com/en/videos/#lg=1&slide=0

We had the rest of the day to explore. In the evening we were going on a walking tour of the area. That will be the next post in this blog.

To be continued...