Italy: Florence -- The David

Italy

Mar 20

I've seen the Mona Lisa. I've seen Venus De Milo. I've seen Van Gogh's self-portraits and Rodin up close, but I've never been blown away like I have with the David. (Actually, Rodin did sort of blow my mind.) I can't really explain why, but seeing Michelangelo's masterpiece up close gave me chills.

A lot of people say that you can just go see the replica in front of the Palazzo della Signoria and get the same experience, but that's bullshit. There's nothing like the real thing, especially if you go to the Accademia exactly when it opens and no one else is there.

First off, he's massive. The scale alone is impressive. And when you consider that he's literally one giant slab of marble, its even more so. Michelangelo was a beast, y'all! Secondly, the proportions are so wacky in person, that it's nothing like seeing it in a textbook.

Even with four years of art history under my belt, it was still nice to go there with an audio guide -- specifically Rick Steves' Guide to Florence's Accademia. His unique take on the narrative was something I hadn't heard before. Give yourself a treat, and listen to it yourself! It's better if you're actually there, but it's still interesting even if you're not.

The Accademia is actually super tiny and besides the David, the main event is the so-called Prisoner series, which are basically figures midway through the carving process, trapped in the marble. It's fascinating to be able to see Michelangelo's process literally captured in stone.

Here's the rest of the goods (including a few more of my beloved David):