Walking with David

In Florence, there are numerous images dedicated to David, and Michelangelo's work itself follows numerous other sculptures of the same subject. The statue met with immediate success, and was quickly considered an essential piece, for artistic, symbolic, and political reasons: its fame has never diminished in the least, and it has become one of the major visual reference points of Florence, a true and undisputed icon. But every work of art is composed of many elements, and this rule applies in a particular way to the David. Beyond its artistic aspect, it is therefore interesting to know the various parts of its fascinating story: the commission, its placement, its meaning, and its fortunes through the past five centuries and more.