A mayor and a museum director in Italy are criticizing the resignation of a Florida school principal who resigned after parents complained that Michelangelo’s iconic statue of David was being included in their children’s lesson plan, claiming it was pornographic.
In a tweetFlorence Mayor Dario Nardella said he would “personally” invite the American educator to the city, home of the statue, to “pay tribute to her on behalf of the city,” adding that “art is civilization.” and everyone who teaches them deserves respect”. Confusing art with pornography is “ridiculous,” Nardella wrote.
Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Galleria dell’Accademia, where the David resides, invited the principal, school board, parents and student body to inspect the statue’s “purity”.
“To think that David could be pornographic is really not understanding the contents of the Bible, not understanding Western culture, and not understanding Renaissance art,” Hollberg said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi address during a news conference in front of Michelangelo’s ‘David statue’ following their bilateral summit in Florence, Italy January 23, 2015. The head of the Galleria del’Accademia in Florence on Sunday, On March 26, 2023, a charter school in Florida invited parents and students to visit and see Michelangelo’s “David” after the school principal, following complaints from parents that a picture of the nude Renaissance masterpiece was shown to a sixth, for had been forced to resign. Class Art Class.MIC101
Quit or get fired
Hope Carrasquilla, a former principal at Tallahassee Classical School, was asked last week to either resign or be fired from her position at the charter school. She resigned after an ultimatum from the school board chair.
One parent complained that the material was pornographic, and two other parents said they wanted to be notified of the lesson before it was given to their children, Carrasquilla said. Classes also included Michelangelo’s painting The Creation of Adam and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.
“It saddens me that my time here had to end like this,” Carrasquilla told the Tallahassee Democrat, part of the USA TODAY Network.
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A centuries-old debate
David’s nudity was part of a centuries-old debate about art crossing borders and the rules of censorship. Metallic fig leaves covered the genitals of statues like David in the 15th century, when the Roman Catholic Church considered nudity indecent and obscene.
The story goes on
The Florida row prompted social media users to point out similarities to a 1990s episode of The Simpsons, in which characters debate censorship of the David.
Contribution: The Associated Press
Natalie Neysa Alund covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: David Statue Prompts Florida Teachers to Resign; Italians react
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