Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“Certainly, I perform circumcisions. I'm a moyl.”
“Then why is it that you have an umbrella hanging outside?”
“And what do you propose that I should hang out there?”
***
In addition to being one of the most admired and visited works of art in the world,
Michelangelo'sDavid isalso the most famous instance inadistinguished lineage ofDavids
that spans the prior century. To truly grasp the significance of David's penis we need to
look at a couple of earlier Davids within the context of Florentine history and culture over
the course of the preceding century.
Here is the Cliff Notes version of what was happening in Florence in the year 1400; it's
offered here so that you can appreciate the context within which the very first David ap-
peared.
It was the worst of times, plain and simple. The loss of all those billions that disappeared
in credit default swaps in the first decade of our new millennium is nothing compared to
what the Florentines had just been through. In 1348 the Black Plague carried off nearly half
of the population; in succeeding decades, flood and drought led to major crop failures and
widespread famine; an economic depression caused the ruination of many of Florence's
international banking houses and many families were left destitute. Then in 1400, Gi-
angaleazzo Visconti, the aggressive new ruler of Milan, assembled an army and started
marching down the peninsula. He conquered one city-state after another, and as he ap-
proached, he demanded that Florence surrender.
The Florentines refused and instead decided to hold an open art competition for a new set
of doors for their Baptistery while the enemy was camped outside the gates. (No, I'm not
making this up.) The theme that was chosen for the sample submissions by contending
artists was, significantly, the harrowing tale of the Sacrifice of Isaac, And, one fine morn-
ing, while the City Fathers were discussing the relative merits of the various works sub-
mitted to the competition, the Milanese leader suddenly dropped dead. Not a good omen.
By the next day his mercenary army was dissolving like a late March snow. Florence was
delivered.
This sequence of events enabled the Florentines to convince themselves beyond any reas-
onable doubt that art was a very powerful form of magic. So, one of the first things that
they did after successfully resisting the Milanese assault was to commission a series of new
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