His bare front bits have caused winces and winks since 1504. The Americans whacked a fig leaf on their David copy for a while. Oglers snicker at their size. Scholars silence any critics, regaling David as a perfect study of anatomy. Michelangelo, who may or may not have had an autistic's genius for detail, created a David just about to battle Goliath. The dilated nostrils, the contracted forehead, and, yes, even his front bits are anatomically correct for pre-fight tension. Blame it on shrinkage and marvel at David's awesome 17 feet high (5.17 metres) presence inside Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence.