Saturday, May 14, 2011

Tuscany: Florence: Academia

David by Michelangelo

You do not see Michelangelo's David, you experience it. It's similar to looking at a photograph of the Grand Canyon, it just doesn't do it; it doesn't take your breath away. Sure, you can appreciate the beauty, but you cannot grasp the magnificence. Being in its  presence is a religious experience.

I looked at it from every angle. David stands there tensely with veins on his hands and neck very apparent, brows furrowed. From the front, you will see David eyeing Goliath with great determination. From the right side, you will notice that his expression changes to a bit of worry (probably thinking how the heck he's going to beat the giant), and from the back you his fantastic ass. His abs, arms, his thighs, his calves, that hip bone that juts out on men are chiseled deliciously to perfection (I won't go into detail about his other manly parts). David is perfection (aside from the fact that his hands are unproportionally large because he was commissioned to be placed way above hanging on top of the church, so it was meant to be viewed that way). 

You go, Michelangelo, you got yourself a hottie!

Make sure that if you go see it, that you see the real thing at the Academia. There is an exact replica that stands in front of Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza Della Signoria -- but it's not the same. You must see the original under that setting, with the slaves leading us into him.