[ad_1]
ROME (AP) — The Florence museum that houses Michelangelo’s Renaissance masterpiece David invited parents and students of a Florida charter school to tour Sunday after complaints that a class featuring the statue forced the principal to resign.
Florence Mayor Dario Nardella also tweeted to invite the principal to come and visit so he could pay tribute to her in person. Nadella said it was “ridiculous” to confuse art with pornography.
this Tallahassee Classical School Board Last week, principal Hope Carrasquilla was forced to resign after a portrait of David was displayed in a sixth grade art class. The school has a policy requiring parents to be notified in advance of “controversial” topics being taught.
The incredible response from the Italians underscores European perceptions of America’s culture wars, where the Renaissance and its masterpieces, even outright masterpieces, have generally remained uncontroversial despite a rise in right-wing sentiment and governance. The front page of Italian daily Corriere della Sera on Sunday featured a caricature of its leading satirist depicting David’s genitals covered in images of Uncle Sam and the word “shame”.
Carrasquilla believes the board targeted her after three parents complained that a class included a picture of David, a 5-meter (17-foot) nude marble sculpture dating to 1504. Reflecting the heights of the Italian Renaissance, the piece depicts biblical David fighting Goliath through faith in God alone.
Carrasquilla said two parents complained that they were not informed in advance that nudity would be displayed, while a third called the iconic statue pornographic.
Carrasquilla said in a phone interview Sunday that she was “very honored” by Italy’s invitation, which she would likely accept.
“I totally love, wow,” Carasquilla said. “I’ve been to Florence before and met David up close and personal, but I’d love to visit the mayor.”
Cecilie Hollberg, director of David’s academy gallery, expressed shock at the controversy.
“To think that David might be pornographic means really not understanding what the Bible says, not understanding Western culture, not understanding Renaissance art,” Holberg said in a phone interview.
She invited principals, school boards, parents and student groups to view the “purity” of the statue.
Tallahassee Classical School is a charter school. While it’s taxpayer-funded and tuition-free, it operates almost entirely independently of local school districts and is popular with parents looking for an alternative to the public school curriculum.
Approximately 400 students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 attend the three-year-old institution, which is currently serving its third principal.it follows the Hillsdale CollegeFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis regularly consults with a conservative Christian school in Michigan Education issues.
Barney Bishop, chair of the Tallahassee Classical School board, told reporters that while photos of the statue played a role in Carrasquilla’s ouster, it wasn’t the only factor. He declined to elaborate, while defending the decision.
“Parents have a right to know at all times that their children are learning about controversial topics and images,” Bishop said in an interview with Slate online magazine.
Several parents and teachers planned to protest Carrasquilla’s departure at Monday night’s school board meeting, but Carrasquilla said she wasn’t sure she would take the job, even if it was offered.
“There’s such controversy and such turmoil,” she said. “I really had to think, ‘Is this really the best?'”
Mara Stone, head of humanities studies at the American Academy in Rome, said the Florida incident was another episode in an escalating culture war in the United States and questioned why the statue was considered so controversial that it required forewarning.
“We have a moral movement here against the body, sex and gender expression, and ignorance of history,” Stone said in an email. fear.”
Michelangelo Buonarroti was commissioned by Florence Cathedral to sculpt the David between 1501 and 1504. The statue is an exhibit of the Academy, which attracts 1.7 million visitors to the museum each year.
“It was very sought after by Americans who wanted to take a selfie and admire the beauty of the statue,” said director Holberg.
Like many museums in Europe, this museum is free to student groups. There is no indication that any travel will be subsidized by the city or the museum. ___
Spencer reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
[ad_2]
Source link