The principal of a contract school in Tallahassee, Florida's capital, was forced to resign after showing her 11- and 12-year-old students a photo of the Florentine artist's famous nude sculpture, a move described as "pornographic" by parents.

"There is a big difference between nudity and pornography," said Cecilie Hollberg, director of the Gallery of the Academy of Florence, in an interview with AFP. "You really have to have a twisted mind to confuse" the two.

"Those who disturb (by David's nudity) have a serious problem with the roots of Western culture," she says, while "it is precisely nudity that is the symbol of its purity."

The German historian, who denounces "a misplaced puritanism", considers this case "quite serious" because it reveals that "we lose the link with our culture and with history".

"When you think that once at the Olympics in Greece all (the athletes) were naked," she adds with a smile.

On Twitter, the mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, said that "confusing art with pornography is simply ridiculous".

Parental rights

An emblem of the Italian Renaissance, the David sculpted by Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1501 and 1504 in a single block of Carrara marble represents the biblical hero as he prepares to confront the giant Goliath with his slingshot. This statue is often considered the ideal of male beauty.

The president of the Florida school's parents' council, Barney Bishop, assured CNN that it was not a question of banning the image, which is shown every year in art class.

But according to him, the parents were not informed in advance as provided for in the procedure and even if almost all of them were satisfied with the course, the school received a complaint judging the image pornographic.

While acknowledging the aesthetic beauty of the work, Bishop explained that the concept of parental rights, supreme in Florida, prevails.

Principal and teacher Hope Carrasquilla was ordered to resign or face dismissal. "It saddens me that my mission here had to end like this," she told the Tallahassee Democrat daily.

Asked by Slate if the decision was due to the controversy, Bishop confirmed that "it was one issue, among many others."

Florida places great importance on parental rights in education, a policy led by Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to run against Donald Trump as the Republican Party's nominee for the 2024 presidential election.

© 2023 AFP