@history: He’s perfectly imperfect. Carved from a single block of white Italian Carrara marble that had been rejected by other artists for being flawed, “David,” the 17-foot-tall, 12,000-pound masterpiece by Michelangelo Buonarroti, was unveiled to the public in a Florentine piazza on September 8, 1504. The statue is widely considered one of the finest examples of High Renaissance art.