English Every Day: Michelangelo's David

Engramme: Your Daily English Programme #46: Michelangelo's David (Listening B1-C1) 

Think Before You Read

Have you seen this statue before? Do you know which biblical figures/ account it embodies?

David & Goliath is the story of David, a young shepherd, who accepts the challenge of fighting Goliath, the champion of the enemies of Israelites. Although David is not equipped with the armor and shield that Goliath possesses, his faith in God gives him the upper hand in the battle and he triumphantly slays the Giant. The statue above stands in the courtyard of Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland, England. But which sculptor's statue of David is the most famous in the world?

Watch and Listen

On September 13, 1501, Michelangelo, the Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet, began work on his statue of David that would become the most famous of all statues of David. This original work of art is now the centerpiece of Accademia Gallery in Firenze, Italy.

Watch This Short Video Tour: What did Michelangelo have to do in order to build a statue as human-like as possible?

Let's Practice

Watch and Listen Again: There are 12 vocabulary mistakes in the following video transcript. Can you find and correct them all?

(see below this post to preview the new vocabulary)

Florence was long an economic powerhouse. Rather than its church, it's the City Hall - once the place of the Medici family - that towers over the main square. Michelangelo's David originally stood here; this is a copy. The original David is the centerpiece of the near Academia Gallery which feels like a temple to humanism. At its altar: one very pressive human. The shepherd boy David sizes up the Giant. Thoughtful and assured, he seems to be thinking, “I can take him.” The statue was an apt symbol, spiring Florentines to tackle their Goliaths. When you look at David, you're looking at Renaissance man. Artists now made their point using realism. They did this by merging art and science. For instance, Michelangelo actually sected human corpses to better understand anatomy. This humanism was not religion. Now people realized that the best way to glorify God was not to bow down in church all day long but to recognize their talents and to use them. Artists like Michelangelo even exaggerated realism to make their point. Notice David's large and developed right hand: this is symbolic of the hand of God. It was God that powered David to slay the Giant. And Florentines liked to think God's favor abled them to rise above rival neighboring city-states. The nave-like Hall leading to David is lined with Michelangelo's finished prisoners struggling to break out of the marble. Michelangelo believed these figures were divinely created with the rock. He was simply chiseling away the excess. Here we see the Renaissance love of the body as Michelangelo reveals these compelling figures. While these statues are called unfinished, perhaps Michelangelo was satisfied he'd set them free; and he moved on to other changes.

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Over to You

Would you like to see some quick questions about Michelangelo's David answered? Here's a link.

Would you like to read more about the David Statue, its background and its importance? See this link.

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