Posted on 01/08/2005 1:47:41 PM PST by wagglebee
Jan. 7, 2005 — Michelangelo's David could soon be enveloped in invisible jets of air to protect it from dust and humidity tracked in by streams of sweaty tourists, the custodians of the Renaissance masterpiece in Florence announced.
Experts at Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia, where the 500-year-old naked marble man attracts 1.2 million visitors a year, found that the statue was covered with grime just months after it was cleaned with a controversial "wet" technique that used distilled water.
"We discovered that the David needs dusting often, every two months during the summer. Tourists bring a large, damaging quantity of dirt particles," said Franca Falletti, director of the Accademia gallery.
One possible solution, according to Antonio Paolucci, the superintendent of museums in Tuscany, is to create a sort of "wall of air" around the sculpture. The system will gently blow filtered air up from around the base of the 5-meter-high (16 foot) statue to keep dust from depositing on its surface.
"It is a noninvasive solution that should work," Paolucci told reporters.
He added that the wall of air, which is being developed by Rome's Sapienza University and Italy's National Research Council, could be operational by the end of 2005 and applied to other masterpieces in the city's museums.
Carved from a single block of marble discarded for an imperfection by two other sculptors, David represents the biblical hero who killed Goliath.
The towering sculpture, acclaimed for its depiction of male beauty, marked a watershed in Renaissance art and established Michelangelo as the foremost sculptor of his time at the age of 29.
David was displayed on Sep. 8, 1504, beside the main doorway of the Piazza della Signoria in Florence and remained there, at the mercy of the elements, until 1873, when it was moved to its present location in the Accademia gallery.
The sculpture has raised passions and controversy ever since 1504, when political protesters threw stones at it. In 1527, the left arm was broken in three pieces during an anti-Medici uprising.
In the mid 19th century, it suffered damage due to acid used in the cleaning solution, and in 1991 a mentally deranged artist named Piero Cannata attacked it with a hammer, demolishing one of its toes.
A controversial renovation, finished last May, was harshly criticized by some art historians who alleged the cleaning had gone too far, affecting the statue's appearance and value.
"All the present problems should have been anticipated before the work of restoration, totally unnecessary in the first place, was undertaken," James Beck, professor of art history at Columbia University in New York and president of New York pressure group ArtWatch International, told Discovery News.
"They had ten years and eight institutes involved but obviously all the officials wanted was to do the cleaning. Now they must do the serious work of conservation they did not do in the first place."
Florence officials are also considering installing special carpets and air ducts in corridors which would suck dust from visitors' shoes and clothes.
GGG Ping
Won't that chilly air make him shrink?
Won't that chilly air make him shrink?
David gets a blow job?
If I waited two months before dusting, I'd need to start with a leaf-blower.
However, when these masterpieces decay beyond recognition, there will be nothing to view.
Yes, but alternating cycles of warm air will make him grow too:)
It's a small museum, with a couple other notable pieces, most noteworthy being Michelangelo's unfinished prisoners or slave sculptures. Otherwise, not much to see besides the David.
Intermingled with the Renaissance art were a number of loathsome pieces of contemporary art. Most obnoxious was a version of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling containing the prominent naked figure of a Mr. Bean type man who had a tremendous "woodie." Kids were disgusted, but couldn't help staring at it. Kinda ruined the visit for me.
Nobody in development liked the original "visible jets of air" idea.
Why don't they just ban the French from the museum? That would cut the amount of grime down substantially.
It's not like he could fan himself
I bet you money it's only a copy on display to the public.
In my opinion, he is already pretty badly shrunken. Michelangelo was not kind to him.
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