MICHELANGELO Buonarroti
(b. 1475, Caprese, d. 1564, Roma)

David (side view)

1504
Marble, height 434 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence

The marble block used for the David had been roughed out and abandoned by Agostino del Duccio and Michelangelo was thus required to work within predetermined constraints. Some peculiarities of the work, such as the relative shallowness of the lateral views of the figure, may be due to the existing shape of the marble; Vasari claimed that the splayed legs were determined by earlier piercing of the block.