Statue of David made by Michelangelo. Michelangelo Artwork / stock.adobe.com
The principal of a school in Florida has been forced to resign after showing her students a photo of the Florentine artist’s famous nude sculpture.
The director of the Florence museum housing Michelangelo’s David lamented on Monday “twisted mind” of the “ignorant» having obtained the dismissal of a school principal in Florida who had shown in class the nudity of the biblical hero.
The principal of a contract school in Florida’s capital Tallahassee was forced to resign after she showed her 11- and 12-year-old students a photo of the Florentine artist’s famous nude sculpture, a move described as “pornographicby parents.
“Nudity symbol of purity”
«There is a big difference between nudity and pornography“, stressed Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Gallery of the Academy of Florence, in an interview with AFP. “You really have to have a twisted mind to confuse” both. “Those who are disturbed (by David’s nudity) have a serious problem with the roots of Western culture.“, she decides, while”nudity is precisely the symbol of her purity».
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The German historian, who denounces “a misplaced puritanism“, judges this case “quite seriousbecause she reveals that “we lose the link with our culture and with history». «When you think that in the past at the Olympic Games in Greece all (the athletes) were naked“, she adds with a smile. On Twitter, the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, meanwhile estimated that “confusing art with pornography is just ridiculous».
Emblem of the Italian Renaissance, the David sculpted by Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1501 and 1504 in a single block of Carrara marble represents the biblical hero as he prepares to confront the giant Goliath with his sling. This statue is often considered the ideal of male beauty.
Parental rights
The president of the Florida school’s parent council, Barney Bishop, assured American television CNN that it was not a question of banning the image, which is shown every year in progress. arts. But according to him, the parents were not informed in advance as provided for in the procedure and even if almost all of them were satisfied with the course, the establishment received a complaint deeming the image pornographic. While acknowledging the aesthetic beauty of the work, Barney Bishop explained that the concept of parental rights, supreme in Florida, prevailed.
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The principal and teacher, Hope Carrasquilla, has been ordered to resign or risk being fired. “It saddens me that my mission here had to end like this.“, she confided to the daily Tallahassee Democrat. Asked by Slate if this decision was due to the controversy, Barney Bishop confirmed that “it was a problem, among many others».
Florida places great emphasis on parental rights in education, a policy led by Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run against Donald Trump as the Republican Party’s nominee for the 2024 presidential election.