Overview
Michelangelo carved the David between 1501 and 1504 from a huge marble block nicknamed the Giant, quarried decades earlier and abandoned by two previous sculptors. He was in his mid-twenties, fresh from the success of the Pietà in Rome.
Description
The 5.17-meter figure stands in contrapposto, sling over the left shoulder, gaze locked on an unseen enemy — David before the battle rather than after the victory, all the drama held in the tensed neck and oversized right hand.
History and legacy
Originally meant for the cathedral’s buttresses, the finished statue was instead placed at the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio as a symbol of the Florentine republic’s defiance. It was moved indoors to the Galleria dell’Accademia in 1873, and a replica now stands on the original spot.