Arts
To the Point:
Why Is Michelangelo’s "David" Controversial?
Professor and Art Historian
Kim Butler Wingfield answers our question of the week
Concerns about David's full nudity
are not new
A document published in 2000 revealed that a
metal garland covering for David was commissioned in 1504,
the year the sculpture was completed,
and replaced with a new one in 1508, which we know was gilded.
Michelangelo was competing with the idealized
heroic nude male bodies
in ancient Greco-Roman sculptures, together with ancient
literary descriptions of colossi,
but the David had important religious significance as well.
Michelangelo
likely intended
The nudity of his idealized body
to symbolize the
Prophet’s state of Grace
and
elevated humanity;
after all,
His Fleshly Lineage
was
Mary's and Christ's
This religious signification was appropriate to its original
planned location on top of a
Buttress
of the Florentine cathedral
Dedicated to Mary
It was also consistent with the currency of Incarnationist theology,
glorifying the moment Christ assumed
Perfected human flesh,
in the period, which spurred an interest in representing
ideally beautiful bodies--
sometimes nude—in sacred contexts.
This was evidently at odds with more conservative
elements in Florentine society.
The Medici had been expelled from Florence in 1494,
after which the
radical Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola assumed control.
Holding deeply conservative views,
he rejected the all’antica
cultural renewal sponsored by the Medici,
which he characterized
as
sinful and corrupting
Although Savonarola was executed in 1498,
he retained an ardent following who perpetuated
a strain of cultural conservatism that
lingered well after his death. Public displays of genitalia
in art were eschewed—hence the modification.
A contributing factor may have been a shift in meaning,
from religious to more emphatically political,
when its location was changed to the front of the civic palace.
The Site Shift
Enabled Viewers to Engage
with
The sculpture More Directly;
No longer 80 meters
Above
Ground Level.. As Designed,
The exposed genitals
may have been
Deemed too Proximate
At any rate, this debate is rooted in history,
even if the politics of the current day are distinct.
I would characterize it as
progressive vs. conservative religious views in the Renaissance,
and
secular views on art vs. conservative religious views today.
The Florida controversy
revives a
religious conservatism about art
similar to that with which
Michelangelo had to contend
Perhaps a better understanding
of the
original theological rationale
for the
sculpture’s nudity--
reflecting the sincere belief that
bodies were divinely created in God’s image--
would ameliorate concerns
and mitigate accusations of “pornography.”
The larger debate about parental rights concerning
The material educators
choose to show their children
at school is a complicated,
and unfortunately highly politicized, one.
A fuller historical understanding of
Michelangelo’s objectives in the
David
could prompt fewer parents
to “opt out.”
The explanation of the symbolism of
The fig leaf
begins in the book of Matthew.
You can tell by the language that this is historical record, not parable.
What does it mean?
“Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.
And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon,
but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.
And presently the fig tree withered away.
And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying,
How soon is the fig tree withered away!
(Matthew 21:18-20)
- The purpose of the fig leaf
- Cataclysm and the fig leaf
- The fig leaf as a symbol of the fall of man
- The shame of nakedness
- The fig tree as Israel
- Israel - a people holy and precious to God
- One faith, one people
- The fig leaf in Mark’s Gospel - nothing but leaves
- God’s response to fig leaf righteousness
- Astonished at Jesus’s doctrine
- The way of the fig leaf is cursed forever
- The symbolism of the fig leaf
- Relationship with God
- It is finished
At first glance
this is one of the more perplexing sections of Scripture.
Why would Jesus Christ -
God on earth and creator of all things good -
curse the fig tree.?
You can tell by the language that this is historical record, not parable.
What does it mean?
The purpose of the fig leaf
The fig tree was created by God to give pleasure and satisfy hunger.
And out of the ground made the LORD God
to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food
(Genesis 2.9).
The fig tree
was
intended to nourish
Cataclysm and the fig leaf
The first mention of the fig leaf
is connected with
the most terrible cataclysm in all of history.
And the eyes of them both were opened,
and they knew
that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves
aprons.
And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking
in the
garden in the cool of the day:
and
Adam and his wife
hid
themselves from the
Presence of the LORD
God
amongst the Trees of the garden
(Genesis 3.7-9)
Suddenly
Adam and Eve
knew
They were Naked
So they
took something good
and used it in
The service of a
Lie
And then they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD.
Shame and fear multiply sin.
The fig leaf as a symbol
of
the fall of man
We cannot conceive of the depth of the loss suffered by our
Beloved Maker at this terrible moment when
Adam fell.
The good world He had created was was ruined.
The perfect communion He enjoyed with His beloved children was severed.
Fig leaves are a symbol of
The Fall
The shame of nakedness
The shame of nakedness is
deeply wired into human beings.
Our
First
Parents
Adam and Eve
never knew fear before they ate the
forbidden fruit
Now like guilty children everywhere they scurried to find something -
anything - to make them feel safe again.
They
chose the fig leaf,
and
clothing was born
Since that day one of the
greatest
humiliations for a human being
is to be
forced to be naked in public
So shall the king of Assyria lead away
the Egyptians prisoners,
and the
Ethiopians captives, young and old,
naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered,
to the
shame of Egypt
(Isaiah 20:4)
French women accused
of collaborating with the Germans,
stripped down to their underwear,
some with
heads shaved,
as part of
their
public humiliation
(Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images).
1945
The fig tree as Israel
The fig tree is used as a figure
of the people of Israel
in both
the Old and New Testaments
(e.g. Jeremiah 24.1-8, Hosea 9.10, Luke 13.6-9)
The people of Israel were called out of the world to be a distinct people.
A good part of the law - when followed - creates separation.
The people of God are always meant to be strangers to the world.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. (John 1.5)
The nations of the earth hate those that are different than themselves.
This comes from the curse of Babel. God wants His people to follow
Him in all their attitudes and behaviors.
He does not want people to adopt the values
and mimic the habits of the
pagans and unsaved amongst whom they live.
It’s easy to condemn “the hardness of Old Testament Israel” for not obeying God.
But how is the church today doing? Are we keeping separate from the world?
Israel - a people holy and precious to God
Many in the nation of Israel loved God and obeyed Him.
They are holy and precious to God.
Think of the faith of Abraham, Ruth, Naomi, David and so many others. Israel gave the world justice and morality. Israel brought forth the saviour of the world, Jesus Christ the righteous.
One faith, one People
The righteousness of Abraham is the same as the righteousness of Paul. The righteousness of Paul is the same as the righteousness of every true believer today. An Israelite indeed - whether Jewish or Gentile - has faith in Christ. Through this faith he is made right with God.
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15.6).
The fig leaf in Mark’s Gospel - nothing but leaves
And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; (Mark 11.13)
God seeks communion with His people.
As hard as it may be to believe, God wants a relationship with His redeemed.
He (Jesus) came unto his own, and his own received him not. (John 1:11)
Some of Israel believed, and still do.
Think of
Mary and Joseph and the apostles.
All were of Israel.
But as a whole, all Jesus found in Israel were fig leaves -
people seeking to cover themselves with their own good deeds.
Such people have no need of communion with God.
They are very happy with their own selves. And they better be.
For they will have all eternity to get to know themselves better.
For they being ignorant of
God’s righteousness,
and going about to establish their
own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto
The righteousness of God
(Romans 10:3)
God’s response to fig leaf righteousnessJust as Jesus cast Adam and Eve out of Eden, so he casts out anyone who makes their own righteousness or teaches others to do so. All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64.6).
And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; 16 And would not suffer that any man should carry [any] vessel through the temple. 17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Astonished at Jesus’s doctrine
If you are astonished at this, you are not alone.
So were the people of Israel at the temple (Mark 11.18b).
But the corporate religious leaders -
pastors, priests and businessmen -
had a very different reaction.
And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and
sought how
they might destroy him:
(Mark 11.18a)
Not much
has changed in 2000 years
The way of the fig leaf is cursed forever (Jesus) said unto it,
Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.
And presently the fig tree withered away.
Soon after this Christ chose to suffer his crucifixion.
At the moment of Christ’s death,
the cloth separating the holy of holies in the temple was ripped in two.
This graphically showed the permanent
end of the
sacrificial system as a means to approach God.
With Christ’s sinless life, atoning death and resurrection,
the Edenic communion between God and His people is restored.
The accomplished work of God on
behalf of his
elect has been completed
For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: [it is]
the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast
.(Ephesians 2.9-10)
Who are the saved Paul is speaking of in this passage?
Every person who
believes
in the
work of Jesus Christ alone
for their
reconciliation with God
The symbolism of the fig leaf
You are an eternal, unique creation of God,
made for never ending communion with Him.
And you are born under God’s wrath.
A symbol of that curse is the fig leaf.
Relationship with God
Before you can have any relationship with God,
His wrath against you must be removed.
It can only be taken away through faith in the vicarious death
and obedient life of Jesus Christ,
fully man and fully God,
the only begotten Son of the Father.
Justification by faith
means that
You Trust completely in
The Way
God has provided,
in the lamb who takes away the sins of the world.
Thereafter you keep seeking
to
live a life for God,
having Him as your
greatest joy and reward in this life
and
in the one to come
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God,
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that,
when he shall appear, we shall be like him;
for we shall see him as he is.”
(1 John 3:2)
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
It is finishedAt the end of time, when the last person to be saved will have been saved, and when the rest have been cast away into an eternity of suffering apart from God, the world will be remade.
God’s people will again walk with Him without shame. There will be no need for a fig leaf - no need for works righteousness (Revelation 21.27) All that kind of thing will have been destroyed, along with those who trust in it.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” (Revelation 22:2-4)
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