The many meanings of Michelangelo's Statue of David - James Earle

Kuptimet e shumta te statujes se Davidit te Michelangelos - James Earle

Translator: Ornella Dailani Reviewer: Helena Bedalli

When we think of classic works of art,

Kur mendojme per veprat klasike te artit ,

the most common setting we imagine them in is a museum.

mjedisi me i pergjithshem ku i imagjinojme te jene eshte ne muze.

But what we often forget is that much of this art

Por ajo qe shpesh harrojme eshte se shume nga ky art

was not produced with a museum setting in mind.

nuk ishte prodhuar duke pasur nje mjedis muzeu ne mendje.

What happens to an artwork

Cfar i ndodh nje vepre artistike

when it's taken out of its originally intended context?

kur ajo hiqet nga konteksti origjinal i menduar per te?

Take the example of Michelangelo's Statue of David,

Merrni shembullin e Statujes se Davidit nga Michelangelo,

depicting the boy hero who slew the giant philistine, Goliath,

qe perfaqson djalin qe vrau filistinin gjigand, Goliathin,

armed with only his courage and his slingshot.

i armatosur vetem me kurajon e tij dhe nje pale llastiqe.

When Michelangelo began carving a block of pure white marble

Kur Michelangelo filloi te gdhendte nje cope mermeri te bardhe

to communicate this famous Biblical story,

qe te komunikoje kete tregim te famshem Biblik

the city of Florence intended to place the finished product

qyteti i Firences kishte ndermend ta vendoste vepren e mbaruar

atop their grand cathedral.

ne maje te katedrales se tyre te madhe.

Not only would the 17 foot tall statue

Jo vetem qe statuja qe eshte 5 metra e larte

be easily visible at this height,

shihet lehtesisht ne kete lartesi,

but its placement alongside 11 other statues

por vendosja e saj pergjate 11 statujave te herojve te ndryshem

of Old Testament heroes towering over onlookers

te Testamentit te Vjeter, te ngritur shume lart mbi spektatoret

would have a powerful religious significance,

do te kishte nje rendesi te fuqishme fetare,

forcing the viewer to stare in awe towards the heavens.

e detyron shikuesin te veshtroje me mahnitje drejt qiellit.

But by the time Michelangelo had finished the work, in 1504,

Por kur Michelangelo kishte mbaruar vepren, ne 1504,

the plans for the other statues had fallen through,

planet per statujat e tjetra kishin deshtuar,

and the city realized that lifting such a large sculpture to the roof

dhe qyteti mendoi se ngritja e nje statuje kaq te madhe ne cati

would be more difficult than they had thought.

do te ishte me e veshtire se c'kishin parashikuar.

Furthermore, the statue was so detailed and lifelike,

Me teper, statuja ishte kaq e detajuar dhe realistike,

down to the bulging veins in David's arm

deri tek venat e fryra te dores se Davidit,

and the determination on his face,

dhe vendosmerise ne fytyren e tij,

that it seemed a shame to hide it so far from the viewer.

sa dukesh gjynah ta fshihnin kaq larg nga shikuesi.

A council of politicians and artists

Nje keshill i politikaneve dhe artisteve

convened to decide on a new location for the statue.

u mblodhen te vendosin nje vend te ri per statujen.

Ultimately voting to place it in front of the Palazzo della Signoria,

Me ne fund votuan ta vendosin perpara "Palazzo della Signoria",

the town hall and home of the new Republican government.

bashkise dhe shtepise se qeverise se re Republikane.

This new location transformed the statue's meaning.

Ky vend i ri transformoi kuptimin e statujes.

The Medici family, who for generations had ruled the city

Familja Medici, qe sundonte qytetin per shekuj me rradhe

through their control of banking, had recently been exiled,

nepermjet kontrollit bankar, sapo ishte debuar nga qyteti,

and Florence now saw itself as a free city,

dhe Firence tashme shikonte veten e saj si nje qytet i lire,

threatened on all sides by wealthy and powerful rivals.

e kercenuar ne cdo ane nga kundershtare te pasur e te fuqishem.

David, now the symbol of heroic resistance against overwhelming odds,

Davidi, tashme simbol i rezistences heroike kunder probabiliteteve derrmues,

was placed with his intense stare,

u vendos me shikimin e tij te thelle,

now a look of stern warning, focused directly towards Rome,

tani nje shikim paralajmerimi, te perqendruar direkt Romes,

the home of Cardinal Giovanni de Medici.

shtepise se Kardinalit Giovanni de Medici.

Though the statue itself had not been altered,

Edhe pse vet statuja nuk ishte ndryshuar,

its placement changed nearly every aspect of it

vendosja e saj ndryshoi pothuajse cdo aspekt te saj

from a religious to a political significance.

nga nje rendesi fetare tek nje politike.

Though a replica of David still appears at the Palazzo,

Ndonese nje replike e Davidit akoma qendron tek Palazzo,

the original statue was moved in 1873

statuja origjinale u leviz ne 1873

to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where it remains today.

tek Galleria dell'Academia, ku qendron edhe sot.

In the orderly, quiet environment of the museum,

Ne ambientin e rregullt dhe te qete te muzeut,

alongside numerous half-finished Michelangelo sculptures,

prane shume skulpturave te tjera gjysem te mbaruara te Michelangelo's,

overt religious and political interpretations fall away,

interpretimet e hapura fetare tdhe politike zhduken,

giving way to detached contemplation of Michelangelo's

dhe i japin vend soditjes se shkeputur te aftesise

artistic and technical skill.

artistike dhe teknike te Michelangelo's.

But even here, the astute viewer may notice

Por edhe ketu, shikuesi i mprehte mund te vezhgoje

that David's head and hand appear disproportionately large,

se koka dhe dora e Davidit duken te medha ne menyre te disproporcjonuar,

a reminder that they were made to be viewed from below.

nje kujtese qe ishin krijuar qe te shiheshin nga poshte.

So, not only does context change the meaning

Pra, jo vetem konteksti ndryshon te gjithe kuptimin

and interpretation of an artwork throughout its history,

dhe interpretimin e nje vepre artistike permes historise se saj,

sometimes it can make that history resurface

por ndonjehere mund te beje ate histori te rishfaqet

in the most unexpected ways.

ne menyrat me te papritura.