David

When first exhibited in London in 1879, the figure was believed to be lost bronze 'David' of Michelangelo. A plaster cast of it in the G.F. Watts Gallery, Compton, bears the inscription MICHEL PIU CHE MORTAL ANGELO DIVINO. In fact it is adapted with several variations from he bronze figure of 'Pluto' made for the Studiolo of Francesco I de'Medici in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence by Domenico Poggini in 1571, and in more recent years it has been several times published as a later variant version by Poggini from his model. The variations are, however, clearly the work of a modern hand, and there are comparable late variant versions of others of the Studiolo statuettes. Further casts in both bronze and lead are known, and the figure clearly at one time enjoyed great popularity.