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Poultices for David

02.08.2005

Michelangelo di Lodovico di Lionardo di Buonarroti Simoni, better known by his first name, created his famous statue of David by order of Florence in 1504.

More than 500 years ago, a marble figure 516 centimeters high and weighing 5,5 tons appeared on Signoria Square. In subsequent centuries, David often suffered from the forces of the elements and human aggression: lightning struck the statue, in 1527, during a popular uprising, her left arm was broken, hooligans broke off her toes “for memory”. In 1873, the masterpiece was transferred to the gallery of the Academy, and a copy was placed on the square.

The original from time to time was subjected to "cleaning" and polishing with acid solutions, which did not do him any good. In 2003, they decided to clean David from centuries of dust and dirt, which continued to accumulate in the gallery.

As a result of long disputes, it was decided to abandon the chemicals and, after vacuuming, wash the statue with distilled water and wipe it with paper towels. On the most polluted places, "poultices" of cellulose with white clay were applied for 15 minutes, which absorbed the dirt. Along the way, they made accurate measurements of the statue and made an x-ray of the ankles. Cracks were found in them, so that David could collapse in an earthquake.

From now on, the surface of the marble is free from contamination, and from now on, dust will be collected from it every one and a half months.

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