David and Venus
These pieces of art represent the nudity of the human figure and the perfection of body proportions.
Fun fact: one of these pieces of art is considered as a masterpiece. The other was once harshly criticized. Can you guess which one was successful and which one was considered a failure?
DAVID
David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created in marble between 1501 and 1504 by the Italian artist Michelangelo. David is a 5.17-metre (17.0 ft) marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence.
David was originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, but was instead placed in a public square, outside the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of civic government in Florence, in the Piazza della Signoria where it was unveiled on September 8, 1504. The statue was moved to the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, in 1873, and later replaced at the original location by a replica.
Because of the nature of the hero it represented, the statue soon came to symbolize the defence of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the hegemony of the Medici family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned towards Rome.
David was originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of Florence Cathedral, but was instead placed in a public square, outside the Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of civic government in Florence, in the Piazza della Signoria where it was unveiled on September 8, 1504. The statue was moved to the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence, in 1873, and later replaced at the original location by a replica.
Because of the nature of the hero it represented, the statue soon came to symbolize the defence of civil liberties embodied in the Republic of Florence, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the hegemony of the Medici family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned towards Rome.
Source: Wikipedia
VENUS
« [...] The composition is common. A naked female figure on a shell, at the center of the painting. [...] Look at the Venus, from top to bottom, it's a balloon not properly inflated. No muscles, no nerves, no blood. It's a miracle that this poor thing is able to stand. Just a tiny push and all falls down. The colour is vile and the design too. [...] »
Translation by Me
« [...] La composition est celle de tout le monde. Une femme nue sur une coquille, au centre. [...] Prenez la Vénus de la tête aux pieds, c'est une baudruche mal gonflée. Ni muscles, ni nerfs, ni sang. [...] c'est par un miracle d'équilibre que cette malheureuse tient debout. Un coup d'épingle dans ce torse et le tout tomberait. La couleur est vile, et vil est le dessin. [...] »
— « Salon de 1879 » paru dans L'Art moderne, Source: Wikipedia
