The Traveller's Magazine
London’s art scene is buzzing with anticipation at the Victoria & Albert Museum gets ready to reopen their Cast Court Gallery, set to feature an exact replica of Michelangelo’s David in the exhibition space.
Michelangelo’s David is a masterpiece and one of the most famous works of art in Florence, a highlight for anyone booking flights to Italy. Seeing it in person however can be cumbersome, from standing in a queue to get a ticket, to extended waiting times to enter the Accademia gallery where the statue is houses and then seeing the statue itself, surrounded by hundreds of other tourists.
If you want a quieter experience with David, then you’re in luck. From November 29th, an exact replica of the statue will be on display at London’s V&A museum in South Kensington. The plaster cast dates back to the mid-1800s and was a gift for Queen Elizabeth from Leopold II, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The piece is just as much a work of art as the original, according to the museum’s conservator.
The statue has been in the museums collection for some time but hasn’t been on display while the Italian Cast Court was being renovated. The Court will display 60 of the V&A’s best 19th century reproductions of Italian Renaissance monuments.
