The Bardic Unicorn

The “Gallant Statue” is very Gallant. (This is the part where I tell you that it still makes me giggle when I see it. to the point where I erected a beautiful waterfall monument around it on my island. I chose my words carefully here, heh.)

Behold! The Statue of David!

The “Gallant Statue” is actually David, by Michelangelo. Be careful when this statue shows up on Redd’s ship, as there is a fake version of this statue!

The Real Deal.

This is the real David. It’s beautiful and elegant and .. gallant? Once placed in the museum, the description provided on the plaque will read,

David, Michelangelo, circa 1504

Marble

Young David glares at his enemies, sling slung over his shoulder. It took Michelangelo more than three years to sculpt this piece. Close inspection shows heart-shaped eyes, but that’s probably meant to depict light hitting them. Hearts didn’t have the lovey-dovey symbolism back then that they do today.

Here is a photo of the real-life version of the statue, to compare:

So you can see that the good folks over at Nintendo really did a stellar job at representing this magnificent piece. Now after you look at the real versions for a moment, it should be pretty easy to spot the fake!

You can see here in this photo (a very shady photo) that tucked in the arm there is a book that shouldn’t be there. It’s a decent fake if you don’t know what you’re looking for, or if you aren’t familiar with the statue – but it’s still fake. If you purchase it, Blathers won’t accept it and you won’t be able to sell it at Nook’s Cranny.

As for the real-life statue – it was originally placed in the Piazza della Signoria, but in 1873 it was removed and placed in the Accademia Gallery in Florence, to prevent further damage, as due to uneven sinking in the ground, a few cracks had started to show in the legs. A replica was later placed in the Piazza della Signoria.

Looking for more information on the art in Animal Crossing: New Horizons? Check out the master list of all the art available!