WEBVTT

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When we think of classic works of art,

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the most common setting we imagine them in is a museum.

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But what we often forget is that much of this art

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was not produced with a museum setting in mind.

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What happens to an artwork

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when it's taken out of its originally intended context?

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Take the example of Michelangelo's Statue of David,

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depicting the boy hero who slew the giant philistine, Goliath,

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armed with only his courage and his slingshot.

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When Michelangelo began carving a block of pure white marble

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to communicate this famous Biblical story,

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the city of Florence intended to place the finished product

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atop their grand cathedral.

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Not only would the 17 foot tall statue

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be easily visible at this height,

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but its placement alongside 11 other statues

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of Old Testament heroes towering over onlookers

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would have a powerful religious significance,

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forcing the viewer to stare in awe towards the heavens.

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But by the time Michelangelo had finished the work, in 1504,

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the plans for the other statues had fallen through,

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and the city realized that lifting such a large sculpture to the roof

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would be more difficult than they had thought.

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Furthermore, the statue was so detailed and lifelike,

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down to the bulging veins in David's arm

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and the determination on his face,

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that it seemed a shame to hide it so far from the viewer.

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A council of politicians and artists

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convened to decide on a new location for the statue.

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Ultimately voting to place it in front of the Palazzo della Signoria,

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the town hall and home of the new Republican government.

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This new location transformed the statue's meaning.

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The Medici family, who for generations had ruled the city

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through their control of banking, had recently been exiled,

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and Florence now saw itself as a free city,

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threatened on all sides by wealthy and powerful rivals.

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David, now the symbol of heroic resistance against overwhelming odds,

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was placed with his intense stare,

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now a look of stern warning, focused directly towards Rome,

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the home of Cardinal Giovanni de Medici.

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Though the statue itself had not been altered,

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its placement changed nearly every aspect of it

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from a religious to a political significance.

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Though a replica of David still appears at the Palazzo,

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the original statue was moved in 1873

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to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where it remains today.

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In the orderly, quiet environment of the museum,

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alongside numerous half-finished Michelangelo sculptures,

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overt religious and political interpretations fall away,

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giving way to detached contemplation of Michelangelo's

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artistic and technical skill.

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But even here, the astute viewer may notice

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that David's head and hand appear disproportionately large,

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a reminder that they were made to be viewed from below.

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So, not only does context change the meaning

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and interpretation of an artwork throughout its history,

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sometimes it can make that history resurface

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in the most unexpected ways.