Not True That ‘David’ Statue Deemed Porn at Florida School, Says Principal

Visitors to the Accademia Gallery in Florence, Italy, pause to admire and take photos of Michelangelo's marble Renaissance masterpiece "David" on April 22, 2016. Michelle Locke via AP

A viral news story about a Florida principal, reportedly forced to resign over a lesson on Michelangelo’s nude sculpture of the biblical “David,” simply isn’t true, according to a school trustee and the principal.

Despite media reports that have attracted attention around the world, no one associated in the matter called the world-famous, 17-foot statue, or the art lesson featuring it, “pornographic,” said Barney Bishop III, board chairman of the Tallahassee Classical School.

And news stories asserting the principal of the school was forced to resign over the art lesson’s content are “disingenuous,” Bishop told The Epoch Times.

The school’s former principal, Hope Carrasquilla, who resigned during the resulting uproar, also agreed that the news story—which created a furor of speculation about conservative censorship—had not been reported correctly by media outlets.

The original 16th century statue of David by Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarroti stands in the Galleria dell'Accademia in central Florence on January 23, 2015. Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images

And though the school and principal did agree to part ways, it was only partly because of Carrasquilla’s failure to follow school policy and notify parents in advance of the lesson, Bishop said. Further details of a personnel matter couldn’t be discussed, he said.

But the art lesson brouhaha has been effective, he said, in getting “the Left all up in arms.”

Indeed, news accounts have sparked worldwide vitriol aimed at Bishop, the board, and the school. And many have painted Carrasquilla as a victim, or even a hero.

The controversy attracted the attention of the mayor of Florence, Italy, where the “David” statue is on display in the Accademia Gallery. He’s invited the ousted principal to visit. And she plans to go, she told The Epoch Times.

But, she says, the problem began with a mistake, and was exaggerated by media outlets that got the story wrong.

‘Bad’ News

The art-lesson issue gained attention after a March 23 article in a local publication in Florida. Other news outlets around the world picked up the story about the marble statue that represents King David of the Jewish Torah and Christian Bible.

The Guardian ran the headline: “Florida principal resigns after parents decry Michelangelo’s David as pornography.”

A headline from CBS News online trumpeted, “Florida school principal resigns after complaints over ‘pornographic’ David sculpture.”

Despite balanced reports from some, such as CNN and Slate, the story provoked rage, especially in liberal circles on social media determined to call out “censorship” by “conservatives.”

A visitor takes a video with her smartphone of Sandro Botticelli's Renaissance masterpiece "The Birth of Venus" at the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, Italy on Jan. 21, 2021. Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images

Carrasquilla, who resigned from leadership at the school on March 20, said she didn’t understand how media outlets got the story so wrong. She never told reporters that a parent called the lesson “pornographic,” she told The Epoch Times in a telephone interview.

“I hate people think that somehow I’m spreading lies,” she said. “I never said I was fired because of this art lesson.”

Reality of Renaissance Lesson

The art lesson brouhaha erupted after a 6th-grade class talk on the Renaissance that included discussions on “David.” It also examined the equally famous “Creation of Adam” fresco, painted by Michelangelo in the early 1500s.

That work shows a naked, reclining Adam reaching out to the outstretched hand of God. It’s part of the famed ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City.

The lesson also featured Sandro Boticelli’s “The Birth of Venus,” painted in the 1480s. That masterpiece features partially nude figures, as well.

After the lesson at the end of February, three parents complained, Bishop said.

One mother fretted because the teacher used the word “non-pornographic” to describe the works, Bishop said. She was worried her child would start looking up the meaning of the term on the internet and stumble upon inappropriate sexual images.

Part of the artwork of Michelangelo that adorns the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Italy. FotoPress via Getty Images

Carrasquilla agreed, saying the mother was upset about the term the teacher used. The mother also complained during a virtual board meeting at the school about the nudity in the classic works.

Bishop said he couldn’t confirm that, because the mother was yelling while he was talking, making it hard to understand what she was saying, he said. The parent emailed him, too, he said, and but he didn’t recall nudity being an issue.

“Nobody suggested [the statue of David] was pornographic,” Bishop said. “She didn’t want her daughter to go out and start Googling ‘What is pornography?’”

Policy Prompting Problem

Two other parents complained that the school didn’t send out the customary notification for upcoming lessons with sensitive topics. One voiced concerns that the teacher told the children not to tell anyone about the lesson, Bishop said. The teacher denied that, he added.

Indeed, school policy is to notify parents in advance of such lessons, Bishop said. Carrasquilla failed to do that. That was one of the issues leading up to his stance on her resignation, he said.

Tallahassee Classical School has been using Hillsdale College’s K-12 curriculum, Bishop said, but the school isn’t officially affiliated with the college. The curriculum is rooted in conservative, traditional principles of moral character and civic virtue, portrayed as part of Western civilization.

Studying the Renaissance, including art of the period, is part of the curriculum.

After the teacher in charge of the controversial art lesson reminded Carrasquilla about the need to notify parents, the principal discussed doing so with another administrator, she said. Inadvertently, they failed to send the notice, she said.

“I started seeing some of the articles coming out, and so I kept trying to talk to different news people or reporters,” Carrasquilla confirmed. “I was forced to resign. But this issue is not about [the statue of ] David, really at all. I mean, this issue was about the lack of notification.”

Still, in a statement printed March 23 in the Tallahassee Democrat three days after her resignation, Carrasquilla said that Bishop “has expressed his displeasure with my leadership when parents became upset about policies or procedures not being followed to the T. He was more concerned about litigation and appeasing a small minority of parents rather than trusting my expertise as an educator for more than 25 years.”

That same article said the principal quit after a parent complained the art lesson was pornographic.

Story ‘Hijacked’

“So in Florida, we believe parental rights are important,” Bishop said. “We’re going to protect those people that are in the minority of the opinion, as much as we’re going to respect the people that are in the majority of the opinion.”

Florida is one of several states in which lawmakers have passed legislation strengthening parental rights. The moves come at a time when parents across the country have objected to schools teaching young children about sexual orientation and gender ideology, and have decried lessons urging activism based on critical race theory (CRT).

Florida law prohibits such teaching.

People opposed to those laws and in favor of promoting left-wing ideology “hijacked” the story, falsely portraying it as an example of censorship by conservative parents in a red state, Bishop said. He’s received “hundreds” of profanity-laced emails over the principal’s resignation, he said. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reacts to a reporter who referred to the Parental Rights in Education bill as the "Don't Say Gay" bill in his question during a press conference in Plant City, Fla., on March 7, 2022. Courtesy of The Florida Channel

Fueling the outrage on social media are posts like those of Florence Mayor Dario Nardella,  who erroneously wrote on Twitter, “A Florida teacher was forced to quit for showing students photos of Michelangelo’s David. Mistaking art for pornography is just ridiculous.”

The Italian elected official said he would “personally invite the teacher to Florence to give her recognition on behalf of the city. Art is civilization and whoever teaches it deserves respect.”

Back to the Books

School officials hope the issue quiets soon. They held a board meeting on March 27,  the first after the principal’s resignation, the out-of-control news story and social media reaction.

People spoke both in support of and in opposition to Carrasquilla’s departure. Some called for Bishop to resign, he said. 

Tallahassee Classical School is a little more than two years old with a diverse student population of almost 500 students, many from poor families, Bishop said. Some parents drive an hour, so their children can attend the school, he said.

Though some on social media blamed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida parental rights’ laws for the issue, the personnel matter was between the charter school and the principal, and had nothing to do with state law or rules, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) told the Epoch Times in an email.

“The Statue of David has artistic and historical value,” Alex Lanfranconi, FDOE director of communications, wrote. “Florida encourages instruction on the classics and classical art and would not prohibit its use in instruction.”