An outsider touched by genius. His Statue of David, the most famous statue in the world,

personifies the aesthetics of high Renaissance art, the politics of  

Renaissance Florence and the technical  virtuosity of Greek sculpture.

The story of Michelangelo's David is anything but the story of a teenage boy king who slew Goliath.

In one of his poems, Michelangelo wrote (old Italian: "son d'esser bruto"): I know I am ugly.   

His nose was broken and appeared crushed into his face  which he said gave him "the look of a beggar".  

He was tortured by his appearance and alienated  from his own body. Despite or perhaps because of  

this, he would spend his life in pursuit of sublime  perfection. He could do little about his own looks  

but he would make sure his David would be the  standard by which male Beauty would be judged.

Michelangelo believed that he was a tool of God.  He wasn't creating a sculpture from marble, he  

was simply releasing the figure imprisoned  within it. Unfinished work by Michelangelo  

gives us many insights into his techniques.  Most sculptors would create a clay model and  

then mark up their block of marble to know where  to chip. But Michelangelo worked mostly freehand,  

starting from the front and working back. To  sculpt in marble you need the strength of  

an athlete and the dexterity of a surgeon. Any  slip-up can destroy years of work. 

Michelangelo would start by what is called "roughing out". Taking the bulk of the weight off with a  

point chisel and a large mallet, for getting  it down to the general shape of the sculpture.  

Then he'd use a tooth tool and a smaller hammer, for more detailed work in modeling the form

As he needed more details, he'd use finer and finer  tooth chisels. He would use a drill to get into  

the deeper crevices. Then he would refine using  various smaller tools. Followed by finishing the  

surface with a tool like the "rasp", a sort of file.  Finally he would polish the statue using abrasive  

pumice stones, and then leather until it is smooth  and glossy. If we look at his unfinished work here,  

we can clearly see the sculpture emerging from  the stone. The marks we see here were made by  

Michelangelo's own hands. The outer part show us  where Michelangelo started to cut away the stone  

with a large pick and a mallet, and in this area  we can clearly see he has used a tooth chisel.

Here on the chest we see even more detail, and the marks  are fainter where he has used much finer tools.

Michelangelo was 26 when he was asked to sculpt  a colossal statue of the biblical hero David,  

to be placed on the roof of the Cathedral in  Florence, 80 metres above street level.  

Only two years before he had carved the achingly  beautiful "Pietà" in Rome, and he was already  

considered a master. He was asked to use an old  block of marble already owned by the cathedral  

that had been sitting around for 50 years. Two  other sculptors had attempted to use it but  

the marble was flawed, and considered too narrow  to produce a successful figure. One sculptor had  

even carved a large hole out between, what were to  have been the legs of his figure, but where others  

saw flaws, Michelangelo saw opportunity. Because  of the shape of the marble Michelangelo had to be  

precise. There was no room for manoeuvre. David  had to look to the side - as there wasn't enough  

marble to have him facing forward - David had to  be in the "contrapposto" position, so that his legs  

would fit around the large hole already in the  marble. And he would have to be slender because  

of the depth of the marble.

The story of David and Goliath is the Biblical story of the Philistine giant defeated by the teenage Israelite,

armed only with his sling. The finale of the story is David cutting off his head and holding it up to the cheering crowd.

Traditionally David had been portrayed at the point of victory. Triumphant over the dead Goliath.

Florentine artist like Donatello and Verrocchio, depicted their own version of David - standing over Goliath's severed head.

All statues are more than mere representations, but  Michelangelo's take on it would be revolutionary.  

By removing the conventional attributes of  the biblical hero, stripping him down, both  

literally and figuratively, Michelangelo also  removes a simplistic reading of it as just an  

illustration of the story. And gives it a wider  metaphorical meaning. For the first time in art,  

David is depicted BEFORE the battle, rather than the moment of victory.

This changes everything.

first and foremost Michelangelo's David depicts  rationality. David isn't about to fight Goliath  

with brute strength, but with skill and reason.  David represents the humanist ideal of a man,  

who can become a hero, by his intelligence and  willpower alone. These are the virtues of the  

"thinking man" considered perfection, during the  Renaissance. Michelangelo catches him at the  

peak of his concentration, as he contemplates  the challenge ahead of him. David is no longer  

the traditional self-assured boy. Now he is shown  as an apprehensive man. David's neck is tense,  

his thigh muscles are flexed, his nostrils are flared, and his brow is furrowed with fear.  

He is just about to glide easily and naturally into action.  He is tense but contemplates the challenge ahead of him,  

with a calculated gaze. The rock is hidden inside his right palm, the slingshot rests on his shoulder,

and hangs down his back - almost invisible.  Emphasising that David's victory was intellectual.  

His chest appears to pulse with anxiety.

Like all of Michelangelo's sculptures, the viewer sees David

at a specific and pivotal point. It is not meant to be the whole story.

David is in motion. The position he is in, is known as "Contrapposto" or "counter pose".

It was invented by the ancient Greeks, and is a very natural and human way to stand.

The red line show where his muscles are tense, and the yellow ones where his muscles are relaxed.

Most of the weight is on one leg, with the other leg forward,

causing the figures hips and  shoulders to rest at opposing angles.   

Giving a slight "S-curve" to the entire torso, and therefore giving the statue a more dynamic look.

The story of David and Goliath would come to represent the city of Florence itself.

During the Renaissance, Italy was a collection of city-states, each with its own ruler.

The newly independent Republic of  Florence, saw itself as "the David of Italy".

Holding out with unexpected strength against the Medicis,

and the powerful and all-consuming influence of the Pope in Rome.  

This point was emphasised when David was placed in a secular spot rather than its intended religious one.

Commissioned as a  statue of the biblical story - in Michelangelo's hands it becomes something else entirely.

The proportions of David are not typical of Michelangelo's work. 

The figure has an unusually large head and hands. But Michelangelo, who had dissected many cadavers  

understood the human body better than any physician. As per the commission, the statue was designed to be seen

from 80 metres below. In 2010, a fibreglass replica was temporarily placed in the spot originally planned for David

And we can clearly see that the proportions work perfectly when seen from below  

Nudity was unusual at the time for a biblical  story, but the Renaissance was a decisive time  

for the nude in Western art. A renewed interest in  ancient Greek and Roman art brought the human body  

to the forefront of artistic innovation. During  the Renaissance, achievement in representing the body, 

became the standard for measuring artistic  genius. It is far harder to depict a nude figure  

than a clothed one. It is a myth though, that  Renaissance Europeans were comfortable with  

nude bodies in art, particularly when displayed in  public. In fact, the city fathers had a garland of  

28 gilded copper leaves made, to protect David's modesty, and in later years he wore a fig leaf, as this photo from the 1860s shows.

Why is the Jewish hero David, not circumcised?

Again, we can trace this back to the inspiration for the  Renaissance: The ancient Greeks and Romans.  

They regarded circumcision as barbaric, and there are  no depictions of circumcision in ancient statuary.  

Also, the Catholic Church denounced circumcision in the Middle Ages.

The Jewish figure of David has been placed into the Christian context of Florence. A hallmark of the high Renaissance.  

It has been remarked that David's penis is rather small.  This was considered an indication of modesty and  

respectability, and shows that the biblical figure is in control of his own urges.

We can contrast  that with contemporary images of satyrs and other figures which represented evil sexuality

David  has a slight squint - it is rarely remarked on but  his eyes point in slightly different directions.  

This is a typical Michelangelo trick, to pull us into the eyes of David.

The pupils are carved out hollow, to capture the changing sunlight, adding to the intensity of the gaze.

Michelangelo calculated every angle and always considered the position of the viewer.

The details are extraordinary.

My own favourite is the jugular vein, which is swollen. This only occurs when people get excited or nervous.  

Michelangelo understood this, over a century BEFORE  scientists would describe the circulatory system.  

The veins in the raised left hand are delicate, while the veins in the hanging right hand are pulsing and more well defined.

The way our blood circulates, this is exactly what would happen to our own hands in the same position

Every detail points to Michelangelo's passion for human anatomy.  

Michelangelo, who never wasted a minute of his  life, worked morning noon and night on David,  

alone and in total secrecy. At night he would  attach candles to his hat. He rarely ate and  

when he did sleep, he slept in his clothes  which he seldom, if ever changed.

In 1504 he  finally presented his giant to the cathedral  committee. They were astonished at Michelangelo's  

skills, and agreed it was far too perfect to be placed at such a height. 

They decided to find a better location - and eventually decided it should be placed in the political heart of Florence.  

In Piazza della Signoria in front of  the town hall where its copy still is today. 

One member of the committee tried to persuade them to place David in a less prominent place.  

His name?

Leonardo da Vinci.

David is truly a colossus. At nearly six metres tall and weighing six tons,

it took four days and 40 men to move the statue  half a mile from Michelangelo's workshop.  

In a gesture of defiance, David was placed facing south - towards Rome.

Michelangelo, then added the  finishing touches on site.

Originally the sling and tree stump support were gilded with gold, as seen in these reconstructions.

David received a rapturous reception from the Florentines,  

and right from the start it was hailed as a  masterpiece - and a symbol of the Republic.  

The Italian sixteenth century historian, Giorgio Vasari wrote:

"After seeing this, no one need wish to look at any other sculpture, or the work of any other artists".

in 1873 David was moved to the Accademia gallery to protect it from environmental damage. 

And in 1910 a full-size copy was placed in the square.

The fig-leaf was eventually removed and  David could be seen as Michelangelo intended.

Statues have power beyond their initial reading.

One man's "hero" is another man's symbol of oppression.

Michelangelo's David has had his fair share of controversies,

but has always been on the side of the oppressed, the underdog.

David represents the power to overcome adversity, in the face of insurmountable odds.

And we can all relate to that.

Michelangelo would go on to create many masterpieces. But his miraculous transformation of a  

shepherd boy into the physical embodiment of  Florence, would prove to be a defining moment  

in his artistic career. He was an alchemist who  turned marble into flesh and bone, and brought a  

psychological insight and physical realism to sculpture, never seen before.  

He died in Rome in February of 1564. Still working at the age of 88 years old,

having outlived both his art rivals - Leonardo da Vinci AND Raphael.

He was brought back to Florence, to be buried in Santa Croce church.

Just a stone's throw away from his divine David.