The first night we were in Rome, we went to the Galleria Borghese. In that gallery, among other pieces, is an extraordinary piece of sculpture - Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s David.

This is a sculpture of a young, lithe, athletic man about to do something that is extremely violent. His muscles are tensed and his jaw is clenched. The level of detail is incredible and the expression of intensity, determination and concentration that has been carved into this sculpture’s face is unforgettable.

Unfortunately they do not allow a person to take photographs in this gallery - so I had to pull some images from the internet.

The work detail on the sling and the stone are also impressive. One just has to look at the size and shape of this sling stone to know that it will do permanent and lethal damage to Goliath when it hits him.

I once heard a religion teacher say that when Goliath saw David was going to be using a sling, he should have taken off running. A sling was a traditional weapon of war back then, not some child’s toy. This sculpture communicates that message better than words ever could.

Below is an image that captures much of the detail of the facial expression.

We saw a lot of statues and sculptures in Rome - truly a capital city for graven imagery and stonework. If I had to pick a some favorites, this Bernini statue would definitely be one of them.