Visiting David

Replica of David: Not the real David, but we weren't allowed to take pics of him in the Accademia. So here's a replica standing in the Piazzale Michelangelo.Florence, birthplace of the Renaissance.

Before arriving in Italy, I knew that art was a pretty big deal in Florence but I must admit to my lack of culture and say I had no idea to what extent. Now that I’m here and have experienced a number of museums in the city, I am nothing but a sponge; simply absorbing all that I see and experience.

My most cliché encounter with Florence’s most celebrated piece was the day I finally went to the Accademia Gallery, home of Michelangelo’s David. It was one of those moments that had been completely hyped up before I even left New York so I was a little wary of being disappointed when I actually saw it (a moment I’ve had with the Mona Lisa in Paris years ago). Friends had told me that no matter the cost of admission, I had to go see it, making my expectations for it that much greater and it was the only piece of art that everyone, art fanatic or not, seemed to know.

Once I found out that it was actually free to enter the museum if you were an NYU student, I knew the time had finally come to visit David. The anticipation was a little bizarre; after all, it’s just a statue, right? Why did I suddenly feel as though I was entering sacred grounds? And I swear I felt a weird energy in the air as though everyone’s one objective for entering the Accademia that day was to see David. With no idea where David actually was, I walked around with my friends, half expecting to suddenly see this form around every corner. Then when I least expected it, I rounded a corner, and there he was. Totally unprepared because the statues leading up to David were half finished pieces that weren’t exactly the most impressive, I had to admit, I was stunned.

So that’s what all the fuss had been about. Granted, I was a bit disbelieving up to the moment I actually saw him. But as I drew closer and could see the immensity and the precision of this glorious form, I was awestruck. And I had a moment of contemplation as I looked at this naked statue of a man when I realized the beauty of the human body that was flawlessly replicated by the great Michelangelo, could never truly capture the actual intricacies of the flesh and blood of a person. In that moment I was reminded of the power of art as a medium that causes one to consider, ponder, and enjoy the majesties of which the cosmos offers.