ROM (AP) – A former Florida school principal who was Forced to resign After showing students a picture of Michelangelo’s iconic statue of a naked David, David personally toured the masterpiece in Florence on Friday.
Cecilie Hollberg directing the Accademia Gallery in Florencewhere the David is the main attraction, said Hope Carrasquilla, her husband and their two children came straight to the museum as soon as they arrived in town.
Carrasquilla resigned as principal at Tallahassee Classical School in the city of Florida last month after a parent claimed the towering sculpture was pornographic. Other parents complained that they were not informed in advance that their children would be shown the nude figure during a lesson on the Renaissance.
Hosting Carrasquilla is a “huge pleasure,” said the gallery director.
“I am happy to welcome her and introduce her to the beauties of our museum, I also show her the David, a sculpture which, I repeat, as I said, has nothing to do with pornography,” Hollberg said in a statement. “It’s a masterpiece, it represents a religious symbol of purity and innocence, the victory of good over evil.”
Hollberg added that the work’s nudity “is a clear expression of Renaissance man-centredness.”
Michelangelo’s marble sculpture depicts the biblical David, naked, with a noose over his shoulder and a stone in hand, ready to battle Goliath.
A call to Carrasquilla’s cell phone went unanswered.
Hollberg noted that currently more than 50% of gallery visitors are from the United States.
“I am sure that here in Florence, Mrs. Carrasquilla will find the welcome and solidarity she deserves,” added the director.
The school in Florida is attended by around 400 students from kindergarten through 12th grade.