Why did Michelangelo decide to portray his David nude?

Answer 1

Michelangelo's David is based on the artistic discipline of disegno, which is built on knowledge of the male human form. Under this discipline, sculpture is considered to be the finest form of art because it mimics divine creation.
Also, regarding the aspect of male genitalia, this was a conscious decision in Michelangelo's endeavor to emulate the ancient Greek aesthetic ideals, which regarded the circumcised penis as mutilated.
You have to remember, though Michelangelo was an art pioneer, he was also a Renaissance sculptor. The return to the classical Greek form in many things, sculpture, art, writing etc, was a feature of the period. Classically, Greek statues were unclothed. The body was thought of as art in its truest, purest form and that putting clothing on it disgraced both it, and the Creator.

Answer 2

Throughout different time periods artists have tried to depict perfection through the human form, in ancient egypt, the paintings done in the tombs were painted in a way to show off the disired featured, like the face was shown in profile, but to show off the eye, a front view of the eye was shown on the side of the head, the chest was shown front on, and the hips were viewed side way, this is also seen today through the models in the advertisements which are photoshopped beyond reality, David was a depiction of what the perfect human form would be, whether it was obtainable back then or not, David was created to show human perfection

Answer 3

In Michelangelo's day, the human body wasn't something to be either embarrassed about or ashamed of. He sculpted it in a tribute to what he considered one of God's most exquisite and glorious creations...Man. That's not a chauvinstic pig's viewpoint, merely a statement of the attitude the way it was then. He was influenced by the Greeks and it showed in his statue of David. Check out the Pieta for another absolutely beautiful tribute.

Answer 4

Statues were generally done nude in those times. People weren't so pruddish about the human body then.