What material is Michelangelo's David carved from?

Michelangelo’s David is carved from marble.

Michelangelo created the monumental Renaissance statue between 1501 and 1504 in Florence. The stone is Carrara marble, quarried in the Apuan Alps of Tuscany, and the finished figure stands about 5.17 metres tall. David portrays the biblical hero before his battle with Goliath, presenting him as a symbol of courage and Florentine civic independence.

The block had already been selected and partially worked by other sculptors before Michelangelo took it over. It had been exposed for years and was considered difficult to use, but Michelangelo carved the figure from the existing block rather than joining separate pieces. That makes the statue’s single-stone construction especially remarkable.

A common mix-up is confusing the material with the statue’s finish: David is not bronze, wood, clay, or plaster. Another David statue by Donatello is made of bronze, which may cause confusion. Michelangelo’s David is now displayed at Florence’s Galleria dell’Accademia; a replica stands in Piazza della Signoria.