Content introduction

I used to sketch David's head many times. The first time I drew David's head was in 1988, when I was in second grade, and I copied David from a sketch book. I didn't know the name of the statue at the time, but as soon as I saw the sketch, I was struck by the heroic temperament and beauty in David's eyes. It wasn't until I grew up that I came to know the statue of David and the many stories of its creator, Michelangelo. The story of David comes from "the Book of David" - the brave shepherd boy defeated the giant Goliath, protected his homeland, and eventually became the king of Israel.

Throughout the ages, many artists have created art based on David's story, whether in the form of painting or sculpture. Most of their works depict a young man overcoming a giant, but Michelangelo's David is different. He sculpts David as a muscular, heroic young man, his eyes bright, ready to go to war. The warm marble turns into a strong body, fully demonstrating the strength, beauty and courage of men. For this reason, Michelangelo's David is regarded as one of the greatest sculptures in the world.

Today, this huge statue stands in the exhibition hall of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence and welcomes visitors from all over the world every day. But not everyone knows that the original stone of this perfect sculpture was once a piece of marble that had been abandoned for many years. It is a piece of marble from the Carrara Mountains, after a long journey to Florence, and after more than 40 years of waiting, until Michelangelo met, finally became a masterpiece.

I often wonder, did Michelangelo make David, or did David make Michelangelo? Or did they make each other?

I often wonder, a stone that looks ordinary, will a Monkey King jump out of it? Will you be David one day? Will it shine a unique personal light?

I often think that every child, even every person, maybe you, maybe I, maybe we are such a stone.

About the author

Liu Hao: Born in Nanjing in 1980, young picture book author, painter and oil painter, under the guidance of oil painters Yang Feiyun, Wan Jiyuan, Zhu Chunlin, Huang Shengxian, Zhang Xiaopeng and so on. His works have been selected for the 15th anniversary exhibition of Macao's return to China, and many oil paintings have been collected by art lovers and institutions at home and abroad. With the work "Parasol Camille" won the second Golden Key picture book creation Competition silver award. With the work "Grassland Boke hands" won the third Golden Key picture book creation Competition gold medal.

Wonderful book review

Based on Michelangelo's sculpture "David", the book tells the story of a huge stone with high hopes, abandoned by artists due to flaws, and finally rescued by Michelangelo and found itself.

The monolith from the Carrara Mountains, a large body since childhood, people say that it is rare in a hundred years, valuable, it firmly believes that it can be a work of art. However, after coming to Florence, he found that he may not be as good as people say... After replacing a batch of craftsmen and revising the design draft again and again, finally, nearly a hundred years later, the stone was gradually formed under Michelangelo's hands - David was born.