A school in Florida considered the statue of David pornography: Italian art historians and politicians intervened in the scandal

The museum in Florence, which houses Michelangelo's statue of the nude David, has officially invited students and teachers from an American school to come and see the original, the director of which had to quit because of a lesson about this work of art, reports with the BBC.

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A Florida school principal was forced to quit after a parent complained that sixth graders were shown a picture of David in class.

Students also looked at the famous paintings of Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam and Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, both of which depict naked bodies. One of the parents called these works pornography. Two more stated that the school should have agreed on such material with parents before the lesson.

In the sixth grade of American schools, children aged 11-12 study.

The statue of a nude figure of David is one of the most famous works of art of the Renaissance. David is a biblical character who defeated the giant Goliath.

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The statue of David was created by Michelangelo in 1501-1504. The work of the artist's contemporaries was recognized as a masterpiece. One of the Renaissance masters, Giorgio Vasari, once said that David "surpassed" any statue that has ever existed.

In 1857, Queen Victoria donated a copy of the David to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum). Historians claim that the queen was so embarrassed by the nakedness of the character that for her, the genitals of the copy of David were covered with a fig leaf. The V&A Museum website says that museum staff always kept the sheet on hand in case Victoria visited, hanging it from the statue using two inconspicuous hooks.

Upon learning of this dismissal situation, the director of the gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where the statue of David is exhibited, invited teachers and students of the school to visit the museum. According to her, the principal of the school deserves encouragement, not punishment.

“To teach about the Renaissance without showing David, the undisputed symbol of the art and culture of this historical era, would make no sense,” said Cecile Hallberg, who heads the gallery.

Hallberg said she was shocked when she heard that a XNUMXth-century marble statue of David had been called pornography somewhere. In her opinion, this is not only a misunderstanding of the Bible, but also a misunderstanding of Western culture itself.

“We need to separate nudity and pornography. There is nothing pornographic or aggressive about David. He is a young man, a shepherd, who, as the Bible describes, did not have decent clothing, but who wanted to protect his people with the means he had,” Hallberg emphasizes.

Florence Mayor Dario Nardella also invited a teacher from the Talahasi School of Classical Education in Florida, whose class caused such a scandal.

“Calling art pornography is simply absurd,” Nardella wrote on Twitter. “Art is civilization, and those who teach it deserve respect.”

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Hope Carrasquilla, director of the Talahasi School of Classical Education, said the school board gave her a choice: volunteer or be fired. She chose the first.

The head of the school board, Barney Bishop, said that last year the previous headmaster sent warnings to parents that Michelangelo's work would be discussed in class, but this year this was not done. He called it a terrible mistake and said parents have a right to know when their child is being taught a controversial topic or shown ambiguous images.

“It is appropriate to display the entire statue of David, but only at a certain age. And we intend to clarify which one,” Bishop said.

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In the state of Florida, a local law has been in place since last year that prohibits sex education and discussion of gender identity in schools until the fourth grade (9-10 years old). Last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed extending this law to all students up to grade 12 (17-18 years old).

Currently, teachers who break the law face dismissal, up to and including revocation of their teaching license.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• A Florida school principal was forced to quit after a parent complained that sixth graders were shown pictures in class. pornographic. In fact In a Renaissance art history class, the children studied Michelangelo's statue of David.

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