The masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture is now wrapped with controversy in America as Florida parents brand Michelangelo's David as pornographic.
Three parents of 11 and 12-year-old students of the Tallahassee Classical School came forward and complained that their children and other students were being taught and exposed to pornography following a lesson on Renaissance art, The Herald reported.
Materials presented during the lesson were Michaelangelo's most famous artworks - David's sculpture, Creation of Adam painting, and Botticelli's Birth of Venus.
"Parents are entitled to know anytime their child is being taught a controversial topic and picture... We're not going to show the full statue of David to kindergartners. We're not going to show him to second graders. Showing the entire statue of David is appropriate at some age. We're going to figure out when that is," stated the Chair of the school's board Barney Bishop III to US news outlets in response to the parents' complaints.
School principal resigned
Hope Carrasquilla, the then Principal of Tallahassee Classical School, resigned last week due to the incident leaving her with no choice. The school board gave her only two options - resign or be fired.
According to Carrasquilla, "a series of miscommunications" resulted in a group of sixth-graders being shown the image of David without parental consent. She told HuffPost that the correct process has always been sending parents advisory letters before the school could present the artwork to the students. However, for this school year, letters were not sent, The Guardian stated.
Bishop further told reporters that the dismissal of Carrasquilla was not only about the photos of the artworks but about other factors as well, to which he refused to elaborate.
This incident happened after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last week the expansion of a law that prohibits public schools from teaching gender identity and sexual education, with the consequences of suspension or losing teaching licenses if teachers violate the law.
No understanding of the Bible, culture, and art
Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Galleria dell'Accademia, where the David sculpture currently resides, expressed her surprise after hearing about the controversy. She invited the school board, parents, and student body over the weekend to come to the gallery so that they could explain and present the "purity" of the statue, according to the Associated Press.
Hollberg emphasized that viewing the David statue as pornographic meant a lack of understanding of the contents of the Bible, western culture, and Renaissance art.
Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, also invited the school principal to Florence as he wanted to "recognize her on behalf of the city."
He then took to Twitter and stated, "mistaking art for pornography is just ridiculous."
The statue of David remains one of the most iconic artworks in Western art history, with Italian Renaissance master Giorgio Vasari describing it as no equal to any other artwork in terms of "proportion, beauty, and excellence.
