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Gallery Of The Academy Of Florence

Michelangelo's David

The Gallery of the Academy of Florence, founded in 1784, is part of the Florentine Academy of Fine Arts. The museum has a collection of sculptures, paintings and musical instruments, and its crowning glory is the statue of David, created by Michelangelo in 1504.

The Gallery of the Academy of Florence (Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze) is one of the most respected art museums in the world. In 1561, the Medici family founded the first art school in Europe: Florence Academy of Fine Arts, its alumni include Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Galileo and other masters across different fields.

In 1784, the gallery affiliated with the Academy of Fine Arts was founded, which was originally a copy room for students of the academy. As the collection grew, it became a renowned museum. One of the most important collections here is the Statue of David by Michelangelo, the Honorary Dean of the Academy.

Michelangelo took the job of David at the age of 26 and completed it in 1504, over three years. From the day it was completed, the stunning work became a phenomenon. Its graceful posture and highly realized musculature have made it the epitome of the beauty of the male body. Originally placed in the Piazza della Signoria in front of the Florence City Hall, the statue was moved to the Gallery of the Academy of Florence in 1873 for safekeeping.

Manywhere Trivia:
As one of the most iconic sculptures in the world, David has copies everywhere, at least two in Florence alone. One replaces the original in Piazza della Signoria and the other is at Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo Square) on top of a hill across the Arno river.

The hall facing the statue of David is called Hall of the Slaves, or Hall of the Prisoners. It contains five works by Michelangelo: a statue of St. Matthew and four unfinished slaves, who seem like being imprisoned in stone blocks and struggling to escape. The slave statues were originally planned to decorate the tomb of Pope Julius II.

Manywhere Trivia:
Michelangelo’s “Slave Series” doesn’t stop there, the Louvre Museum also features The Dying Slave and The Bound Slave, which he created for the tomb of Julius II, too.

The Gipsoteca Bartolini (Hall of Models) houses hundreds of sculptures and paintings, most of them were created in the 19th century. Nearly 100 of these sculptures are by Lorenzo Bartolini, and they are arranged strictly as they would have been in Bartolini’s studio, making them visually striking.

The Gallery of the Academy of Florence has several other rooms with sculptures by other artists, such as Giambologna’s Rape of the Sabine Women, as well as 13th-14th century Panel Paintings, 15th-16th century Works of Florentine School Paintings and instrument collections, etc., covering masters as Botticelli, Paolo Uccello, Titian, etc.