David vs. Goliath, generated by the author using ScanView
Shown by permission of The Digital Michelangelo Project
Everyone has seen photos of Michelangelo's David, but unfortunately the sculpture is invariably shown from the side view, rather than from the front.
The image on the the right is an actual frontal view of David, as he coolly yet menacingly awaits Goliath, his sling at the ready over his shoulder and his face full of disdain. With this lighting, he actually appears to be sneering at the giant. The message of the sculpture is clearly, "You [Goliath, and by extension, Caesar Borgia and any other potential enemy of the Florentine Republic] are dead meat!"
No living person has ever seen or photographed this primary view of the world's most famous sculpture. Since 1873, the original of David has been in the Galleria dell'Academia in Florence, but it was originally turned so as to face into a nearby column, and has been left in that position ever since. In order for anyone to obtain the frontal view of the actual statue, they would have to stand well behind the column, and then use X-ray vision to see through it.
Now, however, thanks to Stanford University's Digital Michelangelo Project, it is possible to obtain virtual views of David from any direction, even through the impeding column! The image shown at right was created with the Project's ScanView software, and is shown here with the kind permission of the project director, Prof. Marc Levoy.
The ideal orientation of the sculpture would be to turn it about 80 degrees clockwise from its present position, so that visitors can appreciate its full impact as they approach it down the long sculpture gallery. Voyeurs who are more interested in David's anatomical details than in his iconography would still be able to obtain fully gratifying views from the left (and right) side rooms, provided it were also pulled forward into the transept.
Dr. Pietro Antonio Bernabei of the Careggi hospital in Florence and Prof. Massimo Gulisano, an anatomist at Florence University, recently announced that every detail of the sculpture "is consistent with the combined effects of fear, tension and aggression," (Hooper, 2005). According to an interview with Bernabei, everything is "consistent with a young man 'at the moment immediately preceding the slinging of a stone.' His right leg is tensed while the left one juts forward 'like that of a fencer, or even a boxer.' Tension is written all over his face. His eyes are wide open. His nostrils are flared. And the muscles between his eyebrows stand out, exactly as they would if they were tightened by concentration and agression." These features of the sculpture are best appreciated in terms of the long-lost frontal view newly depicted here. The tension of the moment even accounts, according to Bernabei, for "a contraction of the reproductive organs," which has puzzled many observers in the past.
Note that the base is aligned about 10 degrees from the sculpture itself, thereby enhancing its dynamic effect. This alignment may also reflect the orientation of the block from which Michelangelo worked. Aligning the statue to face down the sculpture gallery would therefore require placing its base, and therefore its traditional pedestal, at an angle to the building. This might have offended 19th century concepts of symmetry, but today it would be taken in stride.
If you want to try different views of David for yourself, the ScanView software and David data base may be downloaded for free from the ScanView website. Enlarge the ScanView window to full screen, and then drag with your left mouse button to turn the figure. Ctrl + left button moves the viewpoint in and out, the right mouse button moves the image up and down, and Ctrl + right button moves the light source. Unfortunately, only a PC version is available at present, and there is no way to hold the size of the image constant while changing the distance of the viewpoint.
David vs. Column, photo by J. Huston McCulloch
In order to even approximately obtain the frontal view of the sculpture as it is currently displayed in l'Accademia dell'Arte, you must climb on top of a display case in the right side room, and then peer between the two columns that appear in the photo at left. From this awkward vantage point, it appears that David is taking careful aim at the left column, and is about to slay it with his sling. The tourist at his feet is naturally oblivious to the dramatic conflict between Man and Column that is taking place over her head, since she is unable to stand back far enough to see David from the appropriate direction without the column itself blocking her view. (Unfortunately, the columns also confused the automatic rangefinder on my camera, making David himself a little out of focus.)
A photo from the much more accessible viewpoint just left of the round column on the left in this photo, taken by the Digital Michelangelo project, is available online at graphics.stanford.edu/projects/mich/david/scanning-david1/dusting2-s.jpg. From this perspective, however, it is much less obvious from David's eyes that he is taking aim at something, than when he is viewed from the right of this column, through the gap.
According to a webpage of the Stanford Computer Graphics Laboratory, when the head of David is viewed head-on, "the gaze direction of his two eyes actually diverge pathologically." A recent article by Saad Shaikh MD and James Leonard-Amodeo in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine confirms that David is portrayed as "exotropic," stating that "the left eye fixates on the viewer, while the right eye appears to be looking at the distance away from the viewer."
Indeed, David does appear to have divergent eyes in the photo and computer image of his head shown at http://graphics.stanford.edu/projects/mich/color-david/color-david.html. However, the photo (on the left) must surely have been taken from in front of the column, and therefore quite close to David's face on the scale of the sculpture. The computer image (on the right) has the same appearance, and therefore must have been generated from the same virtual distance. If David were looking at a giant in the distance, his eyes would naturally appear to be diverging to a close-up viewer, just as he would appear to be cross-eyed if he were focussing correctly on a fly buzzing over his nose. Unfortunately, there is no way at present to use ScanView to move the viewpoint backward in order to check the alignment of his eyes when viewed from a considerable distance without at the same time having the image appear proportionately smaller.
The statue stood in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence from 1504 until it was moved to the Galleria. There, it was turned so as to face south toward the Uffizi colonade rather than outward into the Piazza della Signoria. In 1910, a modern copy (which is regarded as inferior) was placed in the same position the original had once been. A photo of the copy is shown below.
Modern copy situated like the original outside Palazzo Vecchio.
Photo by JoJan from Wikimedia Commons.
Both the location and orientation of the statue were hotly debated at a famous meeting held in Florence on January 25, 1504. According to an important article about the meeting by Saul Levine (1974), we may discern, in the frontal view depicted above,
aspects that are active, aggressive and even menacing. These culminate in the head with its terribilitเ and intensely staring eyes directed to a dangerous and threatening Goliath. In the political crisis of Florence during this period, there can be little doubt as to which forces constituted the symbolic Goliath. Although the immediate danger of Borgian expansionist policy had abated by the time of the 1504 meeting, the republican elements were still disturbed by the considerably increased power of the Medicean exiles who were always intriguing to overthrow the anti-Medicean Signoria and restore their depostic control over the city. Where the energies of the Medicean Goliath continued to be expended in anti-Florentine schemes was to the south, in Rome.
In front of the Palazzo Vecchio where it was ultimately placed, David did indeed engage its Goliath to the south. Its head constitutes its most meaningful and expressive feature, full of symbolic political associations that had significance for contemporary viewers. The placement of the figure obviously determined the direction of its gaze, and as a result the orientation of head and face was undoubtedly a factor influencing the choice of site.
One participant, Andrea called Il Riccio, actually found the statue to be so terrifying that he preferred to have it placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio rather than outside its entrance. He feared that on the Piazza,
it would also direct its menacing aspects against the Florentines. "It is not for such a thing to go towards the passerby." The David should, instead, "go" against the enemy; nor should the malevolent stare of its head be turned upon the loyal citizens of the republic ("nor should the figure come to look at us"). The language that Il Riccio uses underscores our impression that he sees the work as imbued with an almost magical sense of apotropaic [evil-averting] potency. It is in this context that he uses the dramatic phrase, "such a thing" (tal cosa); a remarkable phrase, indeed, to describe what for the modern viewer, may be seen essentially as a "work of art." (Levine 1975).
By turning the statue southward toward its intended target of Rome, however, rather than outward toward the Piazza, the menacing pose was apparent only to those who took the trouble to look for it. Part of the genius of the statue is that from the westward, or Florentine point of view, David is transformed from a Remorseless Killing Machine into a splendid, yet serene young man who could well be contemplating his sheep, composing
David vs. Goliath, generated by the author using ScanView
Shown by permission of The Digital Michelangelo Project
Everyone has seen photos of Michelangelo's David, but unfortunately the sculpture is invariably shown from the side view, rather than from the front.
The image on the the right is an actual frontal view of David, as he coolly yet menacingly awaits Goliath, his sling at the ready over his shoulder and his face full of disdain. With this lighting, he actually appears to be sneering at the giant. The message of the sculpture is clearly, "You [Goliath, and by extension, Caesar Borgia and any other potential enemy of the Florentine Republic] are dead meat!"
No living person has ever seen or photographed this primary view of the world's most famous sculpture. Since 1873, the original of David has been in the Galleria dell'Academia in Florence, but it was originally turned so as to face into a nearby column, and has been left in that position ever since. In order for anyone to obtain the frontal view of the actual statue, they would have to stand well behind the column, and then use X-ray vision to see through it.
Now, however, thanks to Stanford University's Digital Michelangelo Project, it is possible to obtain virtual views of David from any direction, even through the impeding column! The image shown at right was created with the Project's ScanView software, and is shown here with the kind permission of the project director, Prof. Marc Levoy.
The ideal orientation of the sculpture would be to turn it about 80 degrees clockwise from its present position, so that visitors can appreciate its full impact as they approach it down the long sculpture gallery. Voyeurs who are more interested in David's anatomical details than in his iconography would still be able to obtain fully gratifying views from the left (and right) side rooms, provided it were also pulled forward into the transept.
Dr. Pietro Antonio Bernabei of the Careggi hospital in Florence and Prof. Massimo Gulisano, an anatomist at Florence University, recently announced that every detail of the sculpture "is consistent with the combined effects of fear, tension and aggression," (Hooper, 2005). According to an interview with Bernabei, everything is "consistent with a young man 'at the moment immediately preceding the slinging of a stone.' His right leg is tensed while the left one juts forward 'like that of a fencer, or even a boxer.' Tension is written all over his face. His eyes are wide open. His nostrils are flared. And the muscles between his eyebrows stand out, exactly as they would if they were tightened by concentration and agression." These features of the sculpture are best appreciated in terms of the long-lost frontal view newly depicted here. The tension of the moment even accounts, according to Bernabei, for "a contraction of the reproductive organs," which has puzzled many observers in the past.
Note that the base is aligned about 10 degrees from the sculpture itself, thereby enhancing its dynamic effect. This alignment may also reflect the orientation of the block from which Michelangelo worked. Aligning the statue to face down the sculpture gallery would therefore require placing its base, and therefore its traditional pedestal, at an angle to the building. This might have offended 19th century concepts of symmetry, but today it would be taken in stride.
If you want to try different views of David for yourself, the ScanView software and David data base may be downloaded for free from the ScanView website. Enlarge the ScanView window to full screen, and then drag with your left mouse button to turn the figure. Ctrl + left button moves the viewpoint in and out, the right mouse button moves the image up and down, and Ctrl + right button moves the light source. Unfortunately, only a PC version is available at present, and there is no way to hold the size of the image constant while changing the distance of the viewpoint.
David vs. Column, photo by J. Huston McCulloch
In order to even approximately obtain the frontal view of the sculpture as it is currently displayed in l'Accademia dell'Arte, you must climb on top of a display case in the right side room, and then peer between the two columns that appear in the photo at left. From this awkward vantage point, it appears that David is taking careful aim at the left column, and is about to slay it with his sling. The tourist at his feet is naturally oblivious to the dramatic conflict between Man and Column that is taking place over her head, since she is unable to stand back far enough to see David from the appropriate direction without the column itself blocking her view. (Unfortunately, the columns also confused the automatic rangefinder on my camera, making David himself a little out of focus.)
A photo from the much more accessible viewpoint just left of the round column on the left in this photo, taken by the Digital Michelangelo project, is available online at graphics.stanford.edu/projects/mich/david/scanning-david1/dusting2-s.jpg. From this perspective, however, it is much less obvious from David's eyes that he is taking aim at something, than when he is viewed from the right of this column, through the gap.
According to a webpage of the Stanford Computer Graphics Laboratory, when the head of David is viewed head-on, "the gaze direction of his two eyes actually diverge pathologically." A recent article by Saad Shaikh MD and James Leonard-Amodeo in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine confirms that David is portrayed as "exotropic," stating that "the left eye fixates on the viewer, while the right eye appears to be looking at the distance away from the viewer."
Indeed, David does appear to have divergent eyes in the photo and computer image of his head shown at http://graphics.stanford.edu/projects/mich/color-david/color-david.html. However, the photo (on the left) must surely have been taken from in front of the column, and therefore quite close to David's face on the scale of the sculpture. The computer image (on the right) has the same appearance, and therefore must have been generated from the same virtual distance. If David were looking at a giant in the distance, his eyes would naturally appear to be diverging to a close-up viewer, just as he would appear to be cross-eyed if he were focussing correctly on a fly buzzing over his nose. Unfortunately, there is no way at present to use ScanView to move the viewpoint backward in order to check the alignment of his eyes when viewed from a considerable distance without at the same time having the image appear proportionately smaller.
The statue stood in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence from 1504 until it was moved to the Galleria. There, it was turned so as to face south toward the Uffizi colonade rather than outward into the Piazza della Signoria. In 1910, a modern copy (which is regarded as inferior) was placed in the same position the original had once been. A photo of the copy is shown below.
Modern copy situated like the original outside Palazzo Vecchio.
Photo by JoJan from Wikimedia Commons.
Both the location and orientation of the statue were hotly debated at a famous meeting held in Florence on January 25, 1504. According to an important article about the meeting by Saul Levine (1974), we may discern, in the frontal view depicted above,
aspects that are active, aggressive and even menacing. These culminate in the head with its terribilitเ and intensely staring eyes directed to a dangerous and threatening Goliath. In the political crisis of Florence during this period, there can be little doubt as to which forces constituted the symbolic Goliath. Although the immediate danger of Borgian expansionist policy had abated by the time of the 1504 meeting, the republican elements were still disturbed by the considerably increased power of the Medicean exiles who were always intriguing to overthrow the anti-Medicean Signoria and restore their depostic control over the city. Where the energies of the Medicean Goliath continued to be expended in anti-Florentine schemes was to the south, in Rome.
In front of the Palazzo Vecchio where it was ultimately placed, David did indeed engage its Goliath to the south. Its head constitutes its most meaningful and expressive feature, full of symbolic political associations that had significance for contemporary viewers. The placement of the figure obviously determined the direction of its gaze, and as a result the orientation of head and face was undoubtedly a factor influencing the choice of site.
One participant, Andrea called Il Riccio, actually found the statue to be so terrifying that he preferred to have it placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio rather than outside its entrance. He feared that on the Piazza,
it would also direct its menacing aspects against the Florentines. "It is not for such a thing to go towards the passerby." The David should, instead, "go" against the enemy; nor should the malevolent stare of its head be turned upon the loyal citizens of the republic ("nor should the figure come to look at us"). The language that Il Riccio uses underscores our impression that he sees the work as imbued with an almost magical sense of apotropaic [evil-averting] potency. It is in this context that he uses the dramatic phrase, "such a thing" (tal cosa); a remarkable phrase, indeed, to describe what for the modern viewer, may be seen essentially as a "work of art." (Levine 1975).
By turning the statue southward toward its intended target of Rome, however, rather than outward toward the Piazza, the menacing pose was apparent only to those who took the trouble to look for it. Part of the genius of the statue is that from the westward, or Florentine point of view, David is transformed from a Remorseless Killing Machine into a splendid, yet serene young man who could well be contemplating his sheep, composing
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