US teacher fired over ‘porn’ image of David – reports Florence

Art or pornography, that is the question currently being debated in the US. In the center is Michelangelo’s world-famous David statue. A Florida teacher reportedly lost her job after showing her class a photo of the statue.

The reports have now also caused a stir in Florence, where the monumental Renaissance statue is located in the Galleria dell’Accademia. Even the mayor of the central Italian city made himself heard via Twitter. “Confusing art with pornography is just ridiculous”, Dario Nardella tweeted. He will invite the teacher to Florence “to express her appreciation on behalf of the city. Art is civilization and those who teach it deserve respect.»

The director of the Galleria dell’Accademia, the German Cecilie Hollberg, was outraged and surprised by the alleged dismissal of the teacher. “That’s absurd. Nudity is not the same as pornography», she quotes the Italian daily newspaper “La Repubblica”. The image of David is the symbol of the Renaissance, in which man is central in all his immaculateness, as created by God. David is also a religious figure.

The museum in Florence is one of the most visited museums in Italy, mainly because of the famous statue of David. The marble statue was made between 1501 and 1504. In the 16th century it first adorned the entrance to the Florentine Palazzo Vecchio – it has been in the museum since 1873. Michelangelo’s sculpture depicts the biblical David about to launch his slingshot battle against the giant Goliath.

(yam/sda/dpa)