![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() He worked on his own, standing on wood scaffolding that surrounded the large block. These are the years when the Medici had been exiled from Florence and in which Niccolò Machiavelli was secretary to the second Chancellor’s Office of the Republic (what today we call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).Īfter having prepared the work with many designs and small wax models, Michelangelo started work on the marble block in in 1502. The commission, at the start a religious commission destined to be placed atop one of the spurs of Florence’s cathedral, was taken over by the Government of the Republic of Florence once it was decided that the figure of David could well symbolize the virtue of good government and defense of the homeland. This presented a true challenge to Michelangelo, who was 26 years old at the time and had just returned from Rome after creating his first masterpiece, the Pietà, today conserved within the Basilica of St. This piece of marble was already partially worked and cut by the sculptor Agostino di Duccio, who had received the same commission and tried his hand about 40 years earlier. On July 1501, Michelangelo Buonarroti received the commission by the Opera del Duomo to create a statue that featured David and Goliath, and to use the large piece of marble block that was lying unused within the Cathedral’s workshop.
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