I Am The Marble

I am highly intrigued by the influence of Platonic perspectives in art - most specifically, Michelangelo’s David. In the platonic move toward naturalism, the emphasis falls on properly portraying what is “real.” Essentially, platonism doesn’t like abstracts. But anyway, in this respect, the sculpture of David is platonic in nature - but it wasn’t always that way.

Apparently, David came from a block of marble which, though initially flawless, became unusable through man’s inept handling. Though at least one artist had given up on the block, Michelangelo saw possibilities which others did not. For three years, he chipped away at the supposedly unusable block of marble, working tirelessly to make something beautiful. In 1504, the finished sculpture was, at last revealed. How did he create something so artistically detailed out of something so inadequate? He simply removed everything that didn’t look like David. 

Perhaps it is this transition from broken and useless to beautiful and ready for battle that is the most celebrated about Michelangelo’s David. But for me, though I can appreciate art, it’s not the sculpture itself that I find the most celebratory. It is simply the fact that in respect to the gospel of Christ, He is the picture of the finished product and
I am the marble. 

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son ...” -Romans 8:29