There are several explanations for this.
- The ideal of beauty in antiquity. In ancient Greece, a large penis was considered a sign of stupidity, lust and animalism. The ideal Greek man was intelligent, rational, and authoritarian. Statues from Greek antiquity therefore usually show men with small genitals. The Romans adopted this detail. Since the Renaissance refers to antiquity, David’s penis is correspondingly small.
- David’s tension. The statue shows David just before his fight against the giant Goliath. The slingshot is already on his shoulder. Despite his relaxed posture, the signs of tension are clearly visible in the details. In such a situation of fear and danger, the genitals also shrink.
Michelangelo was a master sculptor and had excellent knowledge of anatomy. This also becomes clear when you take a closer look at the details of the statue of David.
The right hand is relaxed on the hip, but the fingers cramp slightly, the muscles in the forearm are tense, and the veins are prominent. The look into the distance and the wrinkles on the forehead and between the eyebrows reflect the fear, as does the pursed lips. The tension is also visible in the taut neck tendons.
The low development of David’s genitals could therefore have biological as well as aesthetic reasons. David is naked, he’s scared, he’s under stress: all factors that can shrink the penis. Michelangelo was certainly aware of this.
