london137 Plaster Cast David after marble original by MICHELANGELO (1475-1564) in the Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence FLORENTINE; 1501-4 Michelangelo carved the David from a block which had already been started by Agostino di Duccio (1418-1481). The David was installed in place of Donatello's Judith and Holofernes, outside the Palazzo Vecchio, in 1504. It was removed to the Accademia di Belle Arti in 1873, and replaced by a copy. The cast belonging to the Victoria and Albert Museum was presented to Queen Victoria by Grand Duke Ferdinand III of Tuscany in 1856.