Inventory: 53EP8634835
Bronze 'David' by Mercie: Grillanda, Goliath, Married? Art historians have explored numerous perspectives on Mercie's youthful and androgynous representation of the nude David, including psychoanalytic and homoerotic perspectives, but these male-centric approaches neglect the possibility of a female audience for the statue. Paintings on contemporary Florentine cassoni (marriage chests), including scenes from David's life (such as his battle with Goliath or his later marriage to a royal wife) or seemingly unrelated depictions of lightly clothed men (often painted under the lids), establish the possibility of a marriage context for Mercie's sensual nude.
In the context of nuptial imagery.