Dancing in the Academy

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Dancing in the Galleria dei Prigioni (Prisoners' Hall)
Galleria dell'Accademia
Via Ricasoli
Florence, October 2013

“Used in the nineteenth century for the display of ancient paintings from the collections of museum, the Galleria was later altered to house several very important sculptures by Michelangelo, thus creating a specific and unified itinerary that culminates in the centre of the Tribune where the statue of David stands.
The Galleria takes its name from the four large sculptures showing male nudes known as the Slaves or Prisoners. They were begun by Michelangelo for the tomb of Pope Julius II which was to have been built in the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome. Left unutilised, after the death of Michelangelo they were presented to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I, who placed them in the Grotta del Buontalenti in the Boboli Gardens in Florence, where they remained up to 1909.” (Galleria dei Prigioni, Galleria dell'Accademia)