Michelangelo's David With A Rifle: A Right To Bear Arms
ArmaLiteâs ads broke the unwritten rules. Instead of highlighting the heroâs body, they emphatically made him a warrior. Hence Franceschiniâs objection to an âarmed David,â even though every David is armed. âDavid famously used a slingshot to defeat the giant Goliath, making the gun imagery, thought up by the Illinois-based ArmaLite, even more inappropriate,â writes Emma Hall in Ad Age.
To the contrary, the gun imagery, while incongruously machine-age, was utterly appropriate. David did not use a âslingshot.â He used a sling. As historians of ancient warfare -- and readers of Malcolm Gladwellâs latest book, âDavid and Goliathâ -- know, a sling was no childâs toy. It was a powerful projectile weapon, a biblical equivalent of ArmaLiteâs wares.
Nor did Florentine patrons commission statues of David because he looked good without his clothes. They commissioned statues of David because he was a martial hero who had felled an intimidating foe. They made him a beautiful nude to emphasize his heroism, not to disguise his bloody deed. (Donatelloâs David has his boot triumphantly on Goliathâs severed head.) Michelangeloâs giant was meant as an inspiration to locals and a warning to would-be invaders. He wasnât an underwear model. He was a Minuteman. Putting a gun in his hand may look weird, but itâs a lot truer to his original meaning than a souvenir apron.
via Michelangelo's David Has a Right to Bear Arms - Bloomberg View.