Amongst
those who spoke at the meeting were Francesco Monciatto, a wood carver,
who suggested that the statue should be erected in front of the Duomo,
where the block was originally meant to be set up; he was supported by the
painters Cosimo Rosselli and Sandro Botticelli. Giuliano da San Gallo
proposed to place it under the Loggia dei Lanzi, because "the imperfection
of the marble, which is softened by exposure to the air, renders the
durability of the statue doubtful." Messer Angelo de Lorenzo Manfidi
(second herald) objected because it would break the order of certain
ceremonies held in the Loggia. Leonardo da Vinci followed San Gallo; he
did not think it would injure the ceremonies. Salvestro, a jeweller, and
Filippino Lippi supported Piero di Cosimo, who proposed that the precise
spot should be left to the sculptor who made it, "as he will know better
how it should be." Michael Angelo elected to have his David set up on the
steps of the Palazzo Vecchio, on the right side of the entrance. Its
effect in that position may be well seen, appropriately enough, in a
picture by the same Piero di Cosimo (No. 895), in the National Gallery,
where the Piazza della Signoria forms the background to a portrait of a
man in armour. Il Cronaca, Antonio da San Gallo, Baccio d'Agnolo, Bernardo
della Cecca, and Michael Angelo were associated in the task of
transporting the giant from the workshop near the Duomo to the Piazza
della Signoria. It was encased in planks and suspended upright from great
beams.
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