David by Michelangelo

renaissance art · marble sculpture · florence italy · masterpiece

Carved from one stone. Michelangelo spent three years (1501 to 1504) carving the entire 17-foot-tall David statue from a single block of white marble. No other artist had done anything this big and detailed since ancient times.

Shows the moment before. The statue captures the biblical shepherd boy David right before he fights the giant Goliath, standing calm and ready with a stone in his hand.

Moved for safety. The statue originally stood in the public square of Florence, Italy, but was moved into a museum called the Galleria dell'Accademia in 1873 to protect it from weather and damage. A copy now stands in the original spot.

Massively tall. At 5.17 metres (about 17 feet), David was the first giant marble statue made since ancient Greece and Rome, making it a huge deal in art history.

Perfect in detail. Michelangelo carved every muscle, vein, and curl of hair so carefully that the statue looks almost alive, showing his genius as a sculptor.