The Bronze David

---

The bronze “David” by Donatello, 1440s
Museo nazionale del Bargello (Bargello National Museum)
Via del Proconsolo
Florence, April 2015

“Donatello's bronze statue of David (circa 1440s) is famous as the first unsupported standing work of bronze cast during the Renaissance, and the first freestanding nude male sculpture made since antiquity. It depicts David with an enigmatic smile, posed with his foot on Goliath's severed head just after defeating the giant. The youth is completely naked, apart from a laurel-topped hat and boots, bearing the sword of Goliath.” (David by Donatello, Wikipedia)

Public Showers

---

Les Bains-douches Castagnary (The Castagnary public showers), 1932
Rue Castagnary
Quartier Saint-Lambert, 15th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

“Although the French disposition toward hygiene has made marked progress since the Renaissance, it is this royal reticence in tandem with some intriguing historical circumstances that is responsible for the continuing importance of the public showers, the bains-douches municipaux, in contemporary Paris. To the American accustomed to at least one well-equipped bathroom per home, the idea of public showers raises the grimy specter of down-and-out living, violated modesty and communal germs. Nonetheless, in 1990 more than one million Parisians paid the reasonable 4.70 franc fee for a douche chaude.” (Paris' bains-douches, Paris Voice)

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

---

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's tomb, 1861
English Cemetery
Piazzale Donatello
Florence, April 2015

Anno Domini 1908

---

Sir John Cass Foundation Primary School
Duke's Place / St James's Passage
Aldgate, City of London
London, September 2014

“This building now houses the Junior school of the Foundation established by Sir John Cass. Our picture shows the north-east elevation on Dukes Place and the return down an alley. The building extends back to Mitre Street which also has an elevation for show. All other visible aspects of this building were clearly not expected to be on display. We imagine street widening (possibly prompted by bomb damage) has caused this unseemly exhibition, making a once proud building look a mess.” (Plaque: Sir John Cass Foundation, London Remembers)

The Marble David

---

The marble “David” by Donatello, 1409
Museo nazionale del Bargello (Bargello National Museum)
Via del Proconsolo
Florence, April 2015

“The marble David is Donatello's earliest known important commission, and it is a work closely tied to tradition, giving few signs of the innovative approach to representation that the artist would develop as he matured. Although the positioning of the legs hints at a classical contrapposto, the figure stands in an elegant Gothic sway that surely derives from Lorenzo Ghiberti. The face is curiously blank (curiously, that is, if one expects naturalism, but very typical of the Gothic style), and David seems almost unaware of the head of his vanquished foe that rests between his feet. Some scholars have seen an element of personality – a kind of cockiness - (contrapposto = relaxed stance, shifted weight) suggested by the twist of the torso and the akimbo placement of the left arm, but overall the effect of the figure is rather bland.” (David by Donatello, Wikipedia)

Folies Bergère

---

The façade of the Folies Bergère by Maurice Picaud (Pico)
Rue Richer
Quartier du Faubourg-Montmartre, 9th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

The Devil on the Corner

---

Devil (or satyr) by Giambologna (copy)
Palazzo Vecchietti
Via de' Vecchietti / Via degli Strozzi
Florence, April 2015

“One day in the year 1245, St. Peter Martyr, as he usually did, was preaching against the heretics in the Old Market Square (Piazza della Repubblica) in Florence. The crowd that had gathered to hear him were so great in number they filled the square; the crowd overflowed into the Piazza delle Cipolle (Piazza Strozzi). Suddenly the Devil, taking the form of a black horse, wanted to frighten and disperse the crowd engrossed in listening to the saint. The horse began to run like crazy in the market, trampling everything in its path. The crowd began to disperse, and people started running in hopes of saving themselves. St. Peter Martyr saw the situation, raised his arm, and made ??the sign of the cross with his hand, in the direction of the runaway horse. The horse stopped immediately. The faithful began to return to the saint to express their gratitude, and someone realized that the horse was gone. Some centuries later, in 1578, in the memory of that event, Giambologna modeled the statue of the little devil as thanks to Bernardo Vecchietti, who had been his protector and patron. The little devil was placed in the exact location where the horse first appeared and finally disappeared: one of St. Peter Martyr’s many miracles. Even today, the devil is there in Via Vecchietti, and has an appearance similar to a horse.” (The Giambologna Devil, Florence Inferno)