A life-size cast of Michelangelo's David has been reinstated at the newly refurbished Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The sculpture will reside in the completely renovated Cast Court, which is to be renamed the Weston Cast Court, home to some of the V&A's largest pieces.
First opened in 1873, the Cast Courts were purpose built to house one of the most comprehensive collections of casts of post-classical European sculpture. Featuring some of the V&A’s largest objects, the two galleries are among the most popular in the Museum.
The five metre high cast of Michelangelo’s David was given to Queen Victoria by the Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1857, but had to be rehoused during the renovations.
Marjorie Trusted, Lead Curator of the Cast Courts, said: “This splendid gallery displays some of the greatest sculptures of the Italian Renaissance, seen through life-size and dramatic 19th-century plaster casts, in a richly-coloured and imposing interior. The renovation will see the gallery transformed into one of the most impressive spaces in the V&A.”
The Weston Cast Court will reopen to the public on November 29.