The Location of Michelangelo's David: The Meeting of January 25, 1504 *

Shortly before Michelangelo’s marble David was completed, a meeting was held in Florence on January 25, 1504 to discuss its permanent location. ¹ Of all the documents associated with the statue, the one recording the minutes of this meeting is the best known. It has commanded exceptional interest not only because of its importance for our knowledge of the David but also because it records the comments of such renowned artists as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Piero di Cosimo, and Filippino Lippi. The manuscript, published twice in transcription in the nineteenth century, has been frequently cited, excerpted and discussed in the Michelangelo literature. Nevertheless, it has never been critically examined so as to make available a satisfactory and comprehensive exegesis of its text.