Concern for Michelangelo’s David

A New York Times article reported by Repubblica examines the stability of Michelangelo’s David in Florence’s Accademia, which the news source defines as “the most perfect statue in the world” with an eye to tiny cracks which have developed over the centuries.

According to the Director of the Accademia the statue is in good condition and the micro-fractures in David’s ankles and in the tree trunk behind his right leg are stable.

Concerns for the statue’s stability have been raised over the years, due to defects in the marble block itself and nearly 400 years of exposure to the elements in the statue’s original location outside the Palazzo Vecchio (1504 – 1873). In 2014, scientists from CNR and the University of Florence created plaster test models of the statue, which they subjected to centrifugal force.

Based on their test results, they believe that the micro-fractures in the marble are the result of the gradual settling of the base on which the 5.5 ton statue rested in Piazza della Signoria, which eventually caused it to lean forward at an angle about five degrees off the vertical. This exerted pressure on the lower weight bearing parts of the statue, causing tiny fissures to appear.

On February 29, 2016 at the Accademia an agreement was signed between the Museum’s new Director, Cecilie Hollberg, and the President of the Friends of Florence Foundation, Simonetta Brandolini d’Adda.  Thanks to funds raised, the “Friends” have once again come to Florence’s aid, pledging a sum total of €20,000 in 2016 for the upkeep of the David, the other six statues by Michelangelo in the Accademia’s collection, and Giambologna’s clay model for the Rape of the Sabine Women.

In the last 14 years, Friends of Florence have contributed over € 500,000 towards the conservation of both paintings and statues at the Accademia.  To see a photo gallery of David, visit Florence’s La Repubblica news site.  (elizabeth wicks)