FLORENCE.- Even the David, the constructions Michelangelo’s teacher, considered by many to be the ideal of male beauty, gets dirty. Every two months, the sculpture that the artist completed when he was 29 years old, in 1504, willingly lends itself to being thoroughly cleaned in the Gallery of the Academy of Sciences. Florence, in central Italy, which he has presided over for more than 150 years.
The work that emulates the victor of Goliath, which many see as the ideal of man Perfect, it measures more than four meters and was made from a single block of marble.
Its personal restorer, Eleonora Pucci, climbs a scaffold and observes it closely, in a necessary ritual to preserve in good condition this Renaissance jewel, which last year was admired by more than two million visitors.
“A statue that is not dusted regularly, if you look at it from the bottom up, you see a kind of lint,” explains the museum’s director, Cecilie Hollberg, to a group of journalists. “It’s not pretty and it’s not worthy of the artwork we keep in this museum.”
The cleaning of the David is, therefore, “a form of respect, a form of dignity that we want to give to each work of art,” says Hollberg.
“Delicate work”
With a furrow on his forehead, a swollen vein on his neck, the weight of his body resting on his right foot and a slingshot in his left hand, David seems to be permanently focused on Goliath, oblivious to everything happening around him.
Eleonora Pucci, a short woman, wearing a bathrobe, helmet, jeans and sneakers, climbs to the top of the scaffolding and begins to take several photos to check David’s health. Then, with a portable vacuum cleaner strapped to her back, she begins to dust the marble colossus. With careful movements, she passes a soft-bristled synthetic brush over David’s left arm.
Subsequently, he focuses on the left thigh, where his delicate brush follows the marks of the muscles sculpted by Michelangelo, before beginning to work on the back.
“It is a very delicate job that requires a lot of concentration and a meticulous inspection, centimeter by centimeter, to check the state of conservation of the work, which, on the other hand, is in very good condition,” according to Cecilie Hollberg.
The accumulation of dust can affect the shine of the marble and make it grayer and duller.
The smooth parts are easier to clean than the rougher ones, but the museum’s extremely cutting-edge air conditioning system filters have greatly reduced particles floating in the air, and sensors help monitor temperature and humidity levels, according to the directive. .
Michelangelo’s David, a symbol of Florence, was presented at the beginning of the 16th century in the main square of the Renaissance capital, the Piazza della Signoria.
There it remained until 1873, when it was moved to the Academy Gallery, which was literally built around it.
FUENTE: AFP
