So let's look in more detail at those male nudes.
Number One
Michelangelo's David Statue, Florence/Firenze
If you travel to Florence and find yourself in the Piazza del Signoria, you will come face to big toe with David - David the Biblical hero who fought and defeated the giant Goliath, despite his youth and comparative weakness. The artist Michelangelo unveiled his work in 1504 to great acclaim.
It was originally intended for the roof of the cathedral, but reason prevailed (the statue is over 5 metres tall and weighs 6 tons) and it was located in the Piazza in front of the Palazzio Vecchio. What we see today is actually a replica; the original is in the Galleria del Accademia. David was embraced as an icon of the city-state of Florence which had withstood the military superiority of its rival Rome. David the shepherd boy defeats the giant Goliath; David the statue glares defiantly in the direction of the City of Seven Hills.
So far, so Wikipedia.
And then there are - yes - his genitals. And yes: when Queen Victoria occasioned to visit the plaster room at the V&A with its life-size replica, they really did affix a plaster fig leaf to the statue.
(Would I lie to you?)
But the genitals are small. Is this to suggest youth? Certainly, that was a convention in classical statuary - large (male) genitals suggested a lack of sophistication to the classical mind. But this male figure has luxuriant pubic hair (I learn elsewhere that this is a distinguishing mark of Michelangelo's work. I leave it to you to do the research). And please don't let's get embroiled in the fact that this good Jewish lad David is clearly uncircumcised ...
What are we to make of all this?
On the one hand, there is a clear civic function embodied in this male form. David represents the victorious defiance of a smaller and weaker state to a larger one. His body has well-defined muscles and he looks ready for action. But his body is also idealised. Consider his flat stomach and well-turned thighs and calves. It is hard to resist the idea that Michelangelo has presented us with a desirable male body.
So, a body on to which has been projected a political polemic and, perhaps also, very human desire.
But how are we to read this representation of the male form? There are some oddities about the statue. David's hands are disproportionately large compared to the rest of his body. And his pose, resting on one leg with his sling over his shoulder - which is variously described by commentators as alert and aggressive - probably appears frankly camp to many modern viewers.
