1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,640 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hi, I'm Eves and welcome to This Day 3 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:11,520 Speaker 1: in History Class, a show that on covers history one 4 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: day at a time. Today is September eight, nineteen. The 5 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 1: day was September eighth, four. Michelangelo's famous statue of David 6 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,240 Speaker 1: was unveiled in Florence, Italy, in the Piazza de la Signoria. 7 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 1: In the early fifteenth century. The overseers of the Office 8 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 1: of Works of the Duomo Florence's Cathedral church commissioned twelve 9 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: sculptures of figures from the Old Testament. The sculptures would 10 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: be placed on the buttresses of the Florence Cathedral. Don 11 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: Tello made a sculpture of Joshua in terra cotta in 12 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,200 Speaker 1: fourteen ten. More than fifty years later, in fourteen sixty four, 13 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: the Open Eye commissioned a sculpture of David by Agostino 14 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: di Duccio, but Augustino did not finish the project. He 15 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:12,720 Speaker 1: only managed to sculpt some of the legs, Torso and 16 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:16,000 Speaker 1: drapery out of a block of Guerrara marble before his 17 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:21,559 Speaker 1: involvement with the project ended. A decade later, Antonio Rossellino 18 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:25,880 Speaker 1: was assigned to finish the task of sculpting David, but 19 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,840 Speaker 1: he ceased to work on the project too, and the 20 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: block of marble remained in the yard of the cathedral 21 00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:36,560 Speaker 1: workshop for years. It wasn't until the sixteenth century when 22 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaker 1: the Opened Eye would find someone who would finish the sculpture. 23 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: It commissioned the job to twenty six year old Michelangelo 24 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: in August of fifteen o one. The next month he 25 00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:50,800 Speaker 1: began creating the statue, and for more than two years 26 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: Michelangelo worked on the sculpture of David. The statue is 27 00:01:55,680 --> 00:02:00,200 Speaker 1: seventeen feet or five meters tall. David is depict did 28 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: before his battle with Goliath, standing in contrapasto and holding 29 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: a sling draped over his left shoulder. His hands and 30 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: head are disproportionately large. But as the statue was nearing 31 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: its completion in early fifteen o four, it was determined 32 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: that it would not be installed on the roof of 33 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 1: the Florence Cathedral. It weighed six tons and lifting it 34 00:02:23,480 --> 00:02:28,239 Speaker 1: would prove difficult, so a group of Florentine artists, including 35 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:33,080 Speaker 1: Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli and Perugino, was brought together 36 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: to determine a more fitting location for David. After months 37 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 1: of debate, it was decided that David would be placed 38 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: in the Piazza de la Signoria, in front of the 39 00:02:43,480 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 1: entrance to the city's town hall. The statue was installed 40 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: in June, replacing Donatello's bronze sculpture of Judas and Holofernes. 41 00:02:52,960 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: It took four days for the statue to be moved 42 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: the half mouth from its courtyard to its spot at 43 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: the piazza. It was suspended from ropes in a wooden 44 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: cage and pulled along on greased beams. David was installed 45 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: facing Rome on September eight. The statue was unveiled to 46 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,400 Speaker 1: the public. Though a religious statue, David became a civic 47 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: symbol for Florence's struggle against the powerful Medici family. In 48 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy three, David was removed from the piazza for 49 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 1: protection from damage and put inside the Academia Gallery of Florence. 50 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: A replica of the sculpture was installed at the piazza 51 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:37,720 Speaker 1: in nineteen ten. David is one of Michelangelo's most recognizable artworks, 52 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: and it's considered a masterpiece of high Renaissance sculpture. In 53 00:03:43,680 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: a fiberglass reproduction of Miclangelo's David was placed on the 54 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: roofline of the Florence Cathedral for a day. I'm each 55 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: to Coote and hopefully you know a little more about 56 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. And if you're so inclined, 57 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: you can follow us at T D i h C 58 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:09,040 Speaker 1: Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. We'll see you here 59 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: in the same place tomorrow. For more podcasts from I 60 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 61 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.