Two Davids

Yesterday I visited the two most famous Davids in Florence - one by Donatello, the other by Michelangelo.

I wasn't allowed to photograph Michelangelo's David (most of the museums this trip are forbidding photography - bah!) thus the improvised image :-) Donatello's is currently undergoing conservation, so the photos of it are a bit different too.

Donatello's came first, and was a sensation because it was the first male nude in the round since antiquity. Here, David is a youth, already victorious, with his foot on Goliath's head. The conservation is going on in full view of the crowds, and it was possible to see the tests of various cleaning substances on the bronze torso. It was also possible to see the details on the top of David's hat.

Michelangelo's came later and was equally sensational. Carved from a block of marble that no one else wanted, this David is older and more muscularly defined. It set the bar for everything to follow for years. The signs in the gallery say that this David is also shown after the kill, but the current director of the Accademia believes that it depicts a quiet moment of concentration before the fight begins. I'll second that.

I have no words to describe how it feels to stand in the presence of a work of art that I have studied for years, and by an artist that I admire and revere. Let's just say that it's not the first time I have cried in front of a work by Michelangelo. I doubt it will be the last.