The Other Side of David

Waiting in the hot sun in the line outside the Academia in Florence, you begin to wonder if seeing the statue of David is really worth it. You’ve seen the pictures and you’ve studied him in class. Can seeing it really be that big of a deal?

I am here to tell you that yes, it’s that big of a deal. Walking into the museum you enter into a room with walls displaying alters and other art. You skip it because really, you’re there for one reason. Going through the door into the long hallway, you see him. Seventeen feet tall, he’s perched on his pedestal eyeing Goliath and holding the stone which would make him famous.

The sight stops you in your tracks. He is the perfect man: strong, handsome, confident but not cocky. Frankly, he’s hot. You look in the guide book, learning secrets of the statue. It tells you to look at his large hands (large, for they carry out the will of God), see damage to the left foot from when frustrated artist attacked it with a hammer in 1990, and look at the depth in his eyes.

The book instructs you to walk around the statue and appreciate the incredible detail Michelangelo put into his creation. Look at the perfect man’s rear end? This is “art appreciation” I can get into. But does it deliver? Yes. Yes it does.

When you go to Florence, go to Uffizi, go to the Duomo if you need to, but please, leave time for the other side of David.