Have you ever had an experience, one that awoken your senses and made the path you were headed down seem so much clearer? That is exactly how I felt the first time I saw Michelangelo's David.
Like many students journeying off to college for the first time, I was completely unsure of what I was journeying after! I had stressed and made myself sick over applications, the SATs, open houses, and interviews, yet never contemplated what I was going to study once I chose a school! I wrote down "Political Science Major" thinking I would just take up that then head to law school like so many others in my family before me.
My first semester of college, I took a 19th-20th Century Art History course with an amazing professor. Her passion for the subject and knowledge of art exuded from her mouth everytime she explained a particular painting or the history behind a certain artist. This passion blanketed my brain in an art historical realm that i am happy to say I never escaped. From that point on I made sure to take every art history class this professor was offering and dove deeper and deeper into the art world. Of course, my parents were concerned, "How can you make a future from art history? What can you do with that besides teach?" I did not care. I found a subject I actually wanted to absorb. But of course, parents heeding words seep into even the most dead set of minds, and I began to question whether art history was a suitable choice.
My sophomore year my professor was conducting a 2 week study of Renaissance art in the city that born some of the greatest artists known to history, Florence, Italy. I immediately signed up, backed my bags, and headed out for my first overseas experience. Our trip was majestic. Church after church, museum after musum, everything I had ever studied was right there before my eyes. No slide show. No text book. But tradgey does strike even on the best of trips, and I came down with a case of strep throat.
This minor issue excluded me from the day long adventure to Siena, "It's rainy and you will want your strength for the rest of the trip. I have no doubts you will return to Italy and see Siena." These were the cautionary words of my wise professor as she and my fellow students slipped out the door. "If you are feeling up for it later though, go check out The David at the Galeria Accademia... it's not on our itinerary." A few hours later I wrapped a scarf around my throat, threw on my rain boots, and was headed for a date with David.
I walked into the museum a half hour before closing. "Welcome Senorina! We close soon, but please look around." The entire museum was covered in silence. The only sound to be heard were my wet rain boots splashing against the marble floors. I thanked the guards for their kind words, took my ticket, and made a left.
I stood motionless for a few moments as my eyes beheld the beauty in front of me. An aisle lay at my feet lined with 10 of Michelangelo's unfinished sculptures. These prisioners seemed to be breaking free of the marble cages that had held them captive for centuries. Michelangelo once said, "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free." He believed the figures to already be buried within, and it was simply his job to chisel them out. They were exquisite, mysterious, filled with sorrow. Then something pulled my gaze to the room's front.
There it was. There he was. The David. His perfect features, chiseled body, and stone cold stare were more than any photograph or sketching could capture. This iconic figure defining Italy and art all around the world was even more perfect than I ever dreamed. I could feel Michelangelo's presence perserved in The David; immortalized forever. I was alone with him, just starting in amazement as a single tear gently rolled down my face. I knew, at that moment... this was my path in life. I am meant to be surrounded by art. Something that triggers such strong emotions deserves attention, deserves dedication. I sat with The David until the museum closed and walked out into the rainy streets of Florence forever changed.
I continued studying art and now work as an assistant in an art gallery. My journey is far from over, but I have David to thank for the push in the right direction.
As a tribute to this experience, I wrote a poem at the time:
"Within the Marble"
Hold thy pick and chip away,
I have been waiting for you.
I'm inside, can you hear me?
Within I do not wish to stay.
Your work begins on this day,
for I did cost you a fair fee.
Chisel, chisel, set me free.
no more in here I desire to lay.
Keep on working if you dare.
Pull me from this marble cage,
give me eyes so i can stare.
Forever remaining the same age,,
for the viewing people to come who care,
for the memory of you lingering there.
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