Other 'interesting' facts about Michelangelo's 'Dave' for our American cousins;

Carved from a single block of marble that had previously been worked on by another sculptor who struggled to get a full standing figure from such a restricted format.

The hands and head are out of proportion for the rest of the body. Dave used his brain and hands to outwit Goliath, hence Michelangelo's emphasis on these. Also the statue was originally intended for the roofline of the cathedral in Florence and these two body parts needed to be very evident from ground level.

Florence, a small city, identified itself with Dave, a lowly shepherd who took on the might of a giant. In exactly the same way, Florence was frequently defending itself against larger foes. There are a lot of sculptures of Dave in Florence.

Dave originally wore a gilded bronze skirt of fig leaves around his waist to cover his modesty.

Leading Renaissance artists of the day, including Leonardo and Botticelli, decided Dave was too good to be placed on the cathedral roofline and instead decided on the public square it would ultimately be displayed in.

When completed, Michelangelo had a team of workers stand Dave on greased up tree trunks and roll it from his studio to the public square where it was to ultimately be positioned. (*homoerotic overload*)

Dave became a symbol for the Medici family who ruled Florence on and off for centuries. Much like the Trumps, they had their supporters but also their enemies (other strong families). Dave was often the target of vandalism for those too afraid to take a pot shot at the actual Medici clan.

Artists of the Late Renaissance and Mannerist era felt they had to outdo their predecessors. An art historical urban legend persists that Cellini's 'Perseus', was situated in the same square where a replica of Dave stands, and it undermines Michelangelo's efforts. It shows Perseus with the head of Medusa, a creature that could turn men to stone, thus killing them (remember folks, Dave is stone). The importance of 'Perseus' is that Cellini was able to produce a multifigure sculpture with extended forms in bronze from a single casting. This was something artists of Michelangelo's generation had tried and failed to do. Cellini's 'Perseus' has in effect, turned Dave to stone, making Michelangelo's achievement in carving from a single block now defunct.

Michelangelo's Dave is one of the few examples of this subject which focuses on the 'before' rather than the aftermath. Dave has a look of concentration on his furrowed brow as he prepares to take down Goliath.

Michelangelo risked imprisonment by studying the anatomy of cadavers so as to have a better understanding of how the human body works; particularly muscles and veins. Cutting up dead bodies was illegal at the time. Other artists had to get papal permission to do this.

For full on homoeroticism, instead check out Donatello's bronze version of Dave. If Bryan Singer were a sculptor, this is the work he would have made.