Michelangelo's David at the Sea Wall of Davao City

Sea Wall of Davao City - There is a little corner of Copenhagen in Davao City. They call it Davao Baywalk – or the Sea Wall. Others refer to it as “David’s Edge” for obvious reasons. The more-than-20-foot statue of Michelangelo’s David stands proudly to welcome the few local tourists who visit for their fix of fresh sea breeze! To it’s northern edge is a replica of the Little Mermaid, perched on her own rock!

Michelangelo’s David is the Renaissance Period’s finest work. It was inspired, not by some Roman mythological figure, but a biblical hero: the little David who killed Goliath with his slingshot!

At the age of 26, Michelangelo sculpted him (from a Carrara marble). This took him 3 years to finish – from 1501 to 1503 in Florence, Italy!

After its completion, influential artists like Da Vinci and Botticelli helped decide the rightful location of the statue. From the piazza, they later moved it to a (museum) gallery where David is its most favored resident! Several replicas have been commissioned all over Europe, the Americas and even in Jerusalem. I have encountered one in Kensington (London) whose statue has a detachable fig leaf to account for genital modesties of the late Queen Victoria. The plaster fig leaf is attached every time the queen visits Victoria and Albert Museum! V&A takes good care of their David, but I find Michelangelo’s other masterpiece “The Slave” a more elaborate piece of work. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:P1060319.JPG)

David is decidedly an anatomically inaccurate depiction: his head, hands and upper torso are bigger than they should be (for a reason, of course) and his genitals is uncircumcised whereas Biblical David should be "cut". But even this has a reason, as most works during the Renaissance are thematic (read: “uncut”). But there is no denying the eye-popping detail of human anatomy! Davao’s replica follows Michelangelo’s version, although it may be taller than the 17-foot original!

One more thing, Davao’s David is painted in gold. He shimmers in the morning sun, while most Davids are white to off-white!

Regardless of the differences, David, the Little Mermaid, the romantic promenade all provide a pleasurable diversion in the city!

For more info on the Sea Wall, click on the previous post! - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/07/little-mermaid-finds-another-home-in.html

This is the Eye in the Sky!

The pond in front of David's gigantic statue. It is home to half a dozen sharks, which the locals call "iho".

Not quite there yet, but work is in progress. There were cranes nearby.

Copenhagen's David is not well maintained, but the replica still awes the unsuspecting tourist who only knew of Michelangelo's Renaissance statue in Florence (Italy)! I found the statue at a quiet avenue, just a few walks from Langilinie's the Little Mermaid. The Danish capital's pedestrian-friendly squares are a joy among those who love to see the sights on foot!

Comparison of Copenhagen and Bogor's "Little Mermaid"

I was fortunate to have chanced upon the Little Mermaid’s statue in the heart of Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen (which they locally spell Kobenhavn). In a low key area, by the city harbor, with not much fanfare, sits Hans Christian Andersen’s beloved fairy tale character. (Andersen’s statue - with a long hat and coat tails - also stands near the city square).

The statue, which is about 3 feet tall (including the granite boulder it perches on) doesn’t even have signage’s, and is very near the rows of palaces where the “changing of the guards” occur. I remembered taking my usual walks until I reached the boardwalk. Most of the nearby harbor walk was not notable.

Bogor's Little Mermaid.

Copenhagen is an ideal place for “walkers” - this is where the word “pedestrian” originated. I also chanced upon a majestic statue of David nearby. To date, Denmark, the southernmost Scandinavian country, is still not part of the newly expanded Schengen territory, but is easily accessible from Central Europe by train. From Hamburg (which is the northernmost central European city), the train is derailed from its land rails and loaded to a ferry boat that will traverse the icy North Seas. In about an hour, the ferry reaches the shores of Denmark. The Eurail train is re-railed to its land tracks, and travel to Copenhagen resumes.

Copenhagen's Little Mermaid. It was hard to get a good photograph of the statue's face, although it was obviously closer than the one in Bogor, Indonesia.

I am not sure if Bogor’s “Little Mermaid” has any important historical connection with Copenhagen’s little one. Probably the garden designers from London’s Kew Gardens got their idea from their Danish neighbor? Probably not.

I needed a good light to get a decent view of the statue's face. Aww!

Trivia on the statue:

The statue (which was 4 years in the making) was created by the sculptor Edward Eriksen and was presented to the city in 1913 by the famous brewer of Carlsberg beer, Carl Jacobsen. Although many think that the statue is a symbol of the old seaport, the inspiration was Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”.

This is a postcard photo I bought from some newstand in Copenhagen.

In 1909, brewer Carl Jacobsen saw solo dancer Ellen Price dance in Fini Henriques' ballet interpretation of Andersen’s "The Little Mermaid" at the Royal Theatre. He was so taken with her that he asked her if she would pose naked for the statue. She agreed in principle, but was not very interested in posing without any clothes on, when she found out just how public the statue would be.

Instead, the sculptor’s wife stepped in and modeled for the body. On April 23, 1964, the vandals decapitated the Little Mermaid and her original head was never found. A new head was made from the original cast. Most visitors to Copenhagen have their pictures taken next to the Little Mermaid. The statue's birthday is celebrated in various ways every year on August 23.

Nice views along the harbor where the Little Mermaid statue sits nearby.

Majestic statue of David. When my 5-year-old niece saw this, she said, "It is a boy, tito! Ewww!" Almost fell off my chair and laughed so hard!

Check out: Davao City's Little Mermaid here - http://eye-in-the-blue-sky.blogspot.com/2010/07/little-mermaid-finds-another-home-in.html

This is the Eye in the Sky!