A Florida school principal was forced to resign when a parent reported that pupils in class 6 were exposed to pornography during a Renaissance art lesson that included Michelangelo’s “David” sculpture. The Associated Press reported on Friday (March 24) that Tallahassee Classical School principal Hope Carrasquilla resigned this week after an ultimatum from the school board’s chairman, citing a story from the Tallahassee Democrat.
Carrasquilla told the Tallahassee Democrat that she was unhappy that his tenure at the institution had to end in this manner. According to the principal, one parent protested that the material was sexual, and two other parents indicated they wanted to be warned about the lesson before it was taught to their children.
Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” picture and Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” artwork were also included in the teaching. The controversy in Florida has inspired social media users to draw parallels to an episode of the iconic sitcom “The Simpsons,” in which characters debate the censorship of the David monument.
The statue’s nakedness has sparked a centuries-old debate over art pushing boundaries and censorship restrictions. When the Roman Catholic Church regarded nudity immodest and vulgar in the 1500s, metal fig leaves were used to cover the genitals of statues such as David.
When officials constructed wooden panels to protect nude statues at Rome’s Capitoline Museums during a visit by then-Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in 2016, a scandal ensued. Dario Franceschini, Italy’s then-culture minister, criticized the plan to cover up the monuments, claiming that neither he nor then-prime minister Matteo Renzi was informed about it.
When asked about the gift, Rouhani commended the Italians for being “very hospitable people.”