Viswanathan K's Thoughts

Michelangelo’s David. It was commissioned by Florence’s famous cathedral, the Opera del Duomo, to be placed on the roofline. But it proved too heavy and was instead placed in a public square. In the 1800’s, it was moved into the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence to protect it from damage.   The statue is huge (17 feet tall) and stands on a pedestal which is 7’6” tall, so it looks even taller. Our guide pointed out that it is placed under a skylight (dome light) so you see it in natural lighting which enhances its visual impact. Mission accomplished – right from the moment we saw it from a distance.   You can walk around the pedestal to view it from multiple angles. Our guide first gave us the frontal view we know. A man, not the Biblical boy who slayed Goliath (Michelangelo intended to depict David as the “pinnacle of male perfection”, hence as a man, not a boy). The scene is right before the battle with Goliath, breaking the traditional depictions of the time (whic...

Michelangelo did not like to paint; he considered sculptures the superior art form. So how did he end up painting the famous Sistine Chapel? Short answer: Michelangelo was forced to paint, since Pope Julius II insisted he do it, explained our guide.   There were other reasons why Michelangelo wasn’t keen to paint the Sistine Chapel. What was asked for sounded impossible: (1) paint all the major themes of Christianity on a single painting; (2) not on a canvas, but on a huge room (ceiling + walls). Plus, he feared that if he failed to do justice to it, it would be a very public failure that would tar his reputation.   Plus, the work was literally backbreaking. So much so Michelangelo even wrote a poem on how he suffered (“hunched up here like a cat”, “ My brush, above me all the time, dribbles paint so my face makes a fine floor for droppings” and ends by saying “ My painting is dead. Defend it for me, Giovanni, protect my honor. I am not in the right place—I am not a...

The Hourly History biography of Michelangelo makes for great reading. The man, of course, is synonymous with artistic genius: Florence was home to the uber-rich Medicis, who were huge patrons of the arts: “(Lorenzo Medici) encouraged local artists of all stripes to volunteer their time creating sculptures for a sprawling garden near the Medici Palace.” And that is how Michelangelo was “found” by the Medicis. And when the Medicis began to fade, Michelangelo set off to the greener pasture that was papal Rome. Soon enough, he came pulled back to Florence, for an art project depicting the famous slayer of giants, David. Not just for old time’s sake, but also because the other contendor for the project was his rival, Leonardo da Vinci: “Not wanting to be outdone by an artist that he considered only a part-time sculptor… Michelangelo decided to seek out the project for himself.” The statue of David became one of the greatest accomplishments of his career...