The original Laocoön statue was constructed by Athanadoros, Hagesander, Polydoros from Rhodes in the Hellenistic era. The large marble group that we now know as Laocoön Group was unearthed in 1506 CE, currently resides in the Vatican and may be a Roman copy of the famous Greek sculpture that Pliny the Elder described. , If the statue is a Roman copy, it was most likely commissioned by Augustus as a public works project to celebrate the fall of Troy that eventually led to the founding of Rome. However, if the marble statue is the original that was constructed by the sculptors from Rhodes, then the reasons for its construction could be as shrouded in mystery as its travels from Titus’s palace to Rome. Nonetheless, the origins of the statue …show more content…
and its authenticity are a discussion for another time and will not be addressed here. The Laocoön Group sculpture tells the story of a Trojan priest, Laocoön, who protested against the Trojans accepting the wooden horse from the Greeks. According to myth, his punishment for that warning is the event that the statue depicts. The statue, towering over the viewer at eight feet tall, displays an Adonis like figure and his two male children in the clutches of two large marine serpents. The children’s faces are wrought with desperation and despair while Laocoön appears to writhe in agony from the scene playing out and the impending death of himself and his sons (Fig. 1). A closer inspection of the Laocoön Group reveals anguish, unity and a sense of unbalance. The sculptor(s) achieved these effects through the medium used, the scale of the figures and the relationship of the figures and their corresponding poses. One of the first things that the viewer may notice when viewing the sculpture is the painstaking detail that the artist created. The lifelike details and emotions that the artist created are both hauntingly accurate and devastatingly heartbreaking. The arrangement of the male figures provides a glimpse of the agony and anguish that Laocoön and his family might have felt that day. The intricate contortions of Laocoön’s body start the viewer down the path of fully appreciating the horror of that day. Laocoön’s large frame appears to be reflexively moving away from one of the sea serpents as it tries to bite his hip. His left hand clutches one of the sea serpents behind its head as he tries in vain to fight off a bite. His right hand tries to unwind himself from the thralls of the serpents. Laocoön’s arched back hints at a body contortion that only the central nervous system can provide while in fight or flight mode. The small child on the right (Laocoön’s left) is in a dance like posture as he tries free himself from the situation. The child’s left leg is bent at the hip as his left arm tries to free his ankle from a serpent’s coil. The child’s right arm is reaching out towards his father for help, only to be encapsulated by another tightly wound coil of the serpents. The small child on the left (Laocoön’s right) is cantered away from the viewer. One serpent has sunk a devastating bite into the upper right flank of the child. The child’s left arm tries to pry the serpent’s head away from his body but looks to be making little progress. His right shoulder appears in a vertical position. Although, the original arm is not present, one can surmise that due to the size of the serpent, the arm was not able to provide a sufficient defense from the snakes attack. The postures of the figures begin to decipher the complex emotions present during the attack on Laocoön and his family. If the posture of Laocoön and his family frame the emotions present during the attack, then the facial expressions paint the picture. Laocoön’s head is cocked toward the side of the serpent trying to bite him on the hip. He appears to be fully aware of his surroundings as a gaping mouth insinuates a loud boisterous noise emanating from this soul. His eyes are adverted up and to one side in what appears to be him searching the heavens. His gaze and facial expressions are either a desperate plea to the heavens for help or a scathing rebuke for the attack. Both instances indicate the precarious nature of the situation. The small child on the viewer’s right has a gaping mouth and a slightly sneered lip. The child’s brow is furrowed. The wide eyes and direction of the child’s scared gawk can only be the desperate plea of child, begging his father to save him from the nightmare that is taking place. The smallest child in the sculpture (on Laocoön’s right; the viewers’ left) is also starring at his father. The small child also has an open mouth and scared gaze. However, the overall emotion conveyed by the small child is completely different than his other brother. Instead of a plea for help from his father, the smallest child appears to be saying goodbye. The sad and mournful eyes hint at the eventual fate of the group. In the end, the three facial expressions of the male figures in the sculpture are all different. However, all of the facial expressions combine to create an agonizingly accurate and horrific depiction of the shared anguish felt by the members of the Laocoön group. Anguish was not the only thing shared by the members of the Laocoön group. The members of the Laocoön group appear to be made from the same large slab of marble. The beautiful whitish grey marble has been restored so numerous cracks and divisions are now present. However, in the areas where a seam would most likely be present, signifying two separate sculptures were made from two different piece of marble and then mated together, no seems are present. Laocoön’s feet appear to be firmly attached to and made from the same piece of marble as the column that is behind him. A seam is not present which leads one to assume they were created from one piece of marble and crafted at the same time. Other areas support this assumption as well. The smallest child in the sculpture and the snake that is attacking him appear to be made from the same piece of marble as well. The fangs of the snake are actually touching the surface of the child’s torso. Instead of the fangs coming to a distinct point they actually feather out a little as they touch the child’s skin. The feathering out can only be the result of shoddy craftsmanship, which judging by the rest of the sculpture is not the case, or the smallest child and the serpent are in fact crafted from the same piece of marble. The feathering out effect is most likely the result of the artists deciding to give a little bit of strength to a small a delicate area that may be susceptible to breakage. In fact, the small feathering out effect is present throughout the sculpture. It appears at the base of the foot on the smallest child (on the viewer’s left) and again at the base of the foot near the small toe on the older child (on the viewer’s right). Laocoön’s inner left thigh and the drapery also have the small smoothed out feather effect. All of these small examples point to the notion that as the Laocoön group shared the same fate, it is only appropriate that they share the same piece of marble. This is only a small reminder that the members of the Laocoön group were again united in remembrance when the artist created them from the same piece of marble. The theme of unity is again present within the Laocoön group but this time it is in the disproportion of scale.
All of the figures within the sculpture appear either excessively well built, small, or large. To begin with, the serpents are excessively long. The snake biting the child on the left, for example, starts at the child’s torso, his body then curls around the child’s right shoulder, continues behind the child and moves down to ensnare Laocoön’s’ right leg with the smallest child’s legs and then winds around Laocoön’s left leg and finally has one last coil looped around the largest child’s left ankle. If Laocoön were an average height man (around 6 foot tall) then the sea serpents would have to be at least 12 feet long (probably closer to 15 feet or more). The girth of the serpent bodies is disproportionate with their large size. Although, the bodies of the snakes are large, to achieve a size of twelve feet or more, the body of the snake at the apex would probably be closer to the size of Laocoön’s thigh than the size of his wrist and …show more content…
bicep. Laocoön, the central figure within the sculpture has a figure that would rival Adonis.
Although, it is possible and more probable than not, that Laocoön was a well built man. It is highly doubtful that he was so well built. The large imposing physique that the artist rendered Laocoön with made it difficult to adequately reflect a proper size relationship between the parent and children. The children, when compared to Laocoön, are dwarfed by his barrel chest and chiseled arms and legs. To offset this, the artists chose to construct the children with muscular frames as well. The theme of unity is again present, as the children have the same body type as Laocoön (overly athletic and muscular), only scaled down to a size more commensurate with a child’s
height. The theme of unity is present thought out the Laocoön Group sculpture. The artist painstakingly carved the figures to convincingly portray the shared anguish of the family as they were attacked by sea serpents. By crafting the sculpture from a single large piece of marble the artists again chose to unite the family in their struggle. Lastly, the artists’ decision to idealize the scale and proportions of the male figures and the snakes further demonstrates a shared and unifying bond between the snakes and the family. It is readily apparent that Laocoön and his sons are forever united in death, and in my opinion, they should forever be united in our remembrance of them.
The Ancient Egyptian sculpture, “Statue of Nykara and His Family”, was sculpted during the late fifth dynasty. The sculpture is a depiction of Nykara, his wife, Nubkau, and son, Ankhma-Re. The statue is in poor condition with pieces of limestone missing and chips on the three subject’s faces and bodies. The painted limestone shows the conventional colors for the male and female subjects. There is a clear discoloration among Nykara and his son’s bodies. The brownish red color they once were has eroded to a light yellowish color, which resembles the purposeful color of Nykara’s wife. The hieroglyphs on Nykara’s seat insinuate that the sculpture is meant to be viewed from the front view. This is also evident by the way the three subjects are facing forward in frontal view. There are hieroglyphs on both the chair and base of the statue near Nykara’s wife and son’s feet.
The Egyptians created Ramesses’ statue 1279-1212 B.C. using granodiorite. The statue is currently being exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Its dimensions withouts a base are 59 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 30 inches (seems bigger than life-size). One must look at the statue from various sides in order to see its entirety. Ramesses II, known also as Ramesses the Great, ruled Egypt for over sixty years. there are thousands of statues made in his honor to proclaim his power and divinity.
The Statue of a kouros represents a Greek male. With one foot forward, the statue at the same time, represents movement and is able to stand on it own. This also gives the over life size figure, visible weight. In this early figure, geometric forms seem to predominate, and anatomical details, such as the chest muscles and pelvic arch, are presented with somewhat of exaggerated lines. Although the exaggerated lines show where these muscles belong, the detail is still missing. Looking up and down this nude body, at this miss proportioned and lacking of detail body, the hair is what grabs my attention. The hair is carved with detail not noticeable in the rest of the body. As well, although the fists are clinched and still bonded to the body, the legs and elbows are separated. The ability to move around and inspect the statue makes a big difference than if it was up against a wall, or just looking at its picture. The legs, which support the weight of the statue, have a visible strength which is seen in the knees. The head is what carried the most detail, the ears although to far back, are intricately designed. It is the ability to walk around the entire statue that allows me to see the different aspects and places where attention to detail was placed. However, he does not expand into three dimensional space; he has a closed-off, column-like appearance
Recall the ancient Greeks and the sculptor Phidias, who created the row of sculptures that sit above the columns of the Parthenon. The Parthenon, built in 447 to 438 BC, is in Athens, Greece. The Greeks used the Golden Ratio, which they called the Golden Section, as the basis for the design of the Parthenon as it created a balance in the design.
In regards to subject matter, both pieces of sculpture are of leaders, Mycerinus and Kha-merer-nebty II were the pharaoh and queen of Egypt around 2500 BCE., and Caesar Augustus was the Emperor of Rome from September 23, 63 BCE to August 19, 14 CE., shown in this work as a general from Primaport, Italy.
In both pieces the Kouros and the Isamu Noguchi Kouros they don’t necessarily have lines as such a painting they both have a form. Both Kouros have linear characteristics that flow through the sculptures, they make your eyes follow the ways of the creases. In the Kouros sculpture from 600 BCE is human like, so it has the way the body is elongated and has those natural lines that make it look human like. The Isamu Noguchi Kouros has negative spaces throughout the piece. All of it is open and it provides a focal area to how the pieces fit within the sculpture. The sculptures both have textures even though they are pictures, just by using my eyes and background knowledge I can tell there is surface that differs in each piece. The Kouros from 600
And just like the Greek the statue are both big and almost human size. A great example of this is the “Augustus of Primaporta, 1st century C.E. (Vatican Museums).” It truly shows the evolution of art sculpting. It is a full size very detailed sculpture of Augustus. It very detailed from his hair showing every curl and split to the small details in his armor that also depicts a story as well is shows the god of the sky looking down on him and the goddess of the earth looking up towards him as they watch the Parthians surrender to him and returning the standards shows the great power that Augustus has, and not just that but also the sculpture itself is a symbol for how Augustus wanted everyone to see him as, as god like. And it even has a little small cupid on the side which is also detailed which shows that Augusts is decedent from a
The statue is made of marble, instead of the bronze statue. This statue is one of the earliest marble statues of a human figure carved in Attica. The statue is a kind of symbol; he does not in any way a likeness. This is my first expression when I saw the statue: the statue is showing me a simple, clear action that was used by Greek youth sculptures throughout this period. Looking at this statue, he expanded into 3D space, because he is standing straight and facing forward without any exaggerated movements, thus the post makes him look closed-off and a column his limbs are locked in space. Therefore, the standing posture, the decorations on his body, his hair and knee’s texture and how the Egyptians impact Greek art, is what makes me interested in it. A question that has always been in my mind is
I chose this sculpture because I was intrigued by the position of the man and the centaur. I was able to witness that the centaur is trying to invade the personal space of the man. The sculpture showed me that there is a strong relationship between man and creature. The quality of the sculpture made me realize that animals play a big part of a human’s life and can be seen as threatening to humans. It was interesting to see that both the man and centaur were created to have almost of the same structures. This statue has a metallic brown and green, bronze tone and appeared undersized. It has a height of four and a half feet, and six inches. It has long, thin, legs with calf muscles, and bulging thighs. The sculpture evolved from Olympia, Greece. The man and centaur sculpture was created in 750 BCE during an orderly time period. The colors used for this sculpture, proved that it has a longer lasting mold for statues. On the left side of the sculpture, the man has a wrap on his head, that can symbolize, he is some form of a god. On the right side, the centaur has the same head piece as the man, but the body of a horse. It can be seen that the man and
He discusses that Roman statues appear greatly similar to those of Ancient Greece, both in material and in style. The statues both from Greece and Roman Republic were made from slabs of marble and bronze. In both cultures, portraits were used as expressions of honor to both the living and the dead. They were often used in funerary spaces and sanctuaries. Stewart supports the same principle that the other critics have stated, that portraits and statues were used primarily by the wealthy and elite members of the republic. They decorated the public spaces of the people, as a reminder of leadership within the community and as a way to honor the authority’s power. Imperial portraits were used as a symbol of devotion and established the presence of a powerful empire, bringing the devotion towards the emperor
This is a copy of the sculpture of Athena Parthenos, dressed in battle attire, that was originally created by Phidias during the period of 447-39 B.C. The statue of Athena Parthenos was to be constructed, not of bronze, but of gold and ivory. The face, arms, and feet of the statue were to be made of ivory and the clothing, of thickly plated gold. The statue was an enormous size that towered thirty-three feet tall. The costly nature of the materials out of which it was designed was intended to overwhelm the viewer, creating a sense of religious awe.
The trip to the metropolitan museum was a great trip to learn and to study art. What is art you may ask, well art is an expression you use to show a visual picture. It can be through painting or through sculptures. Some other example of art is music, literature and dancing. For today 's paper we will be talking about art as a sculpture. The two sculptures in this photo are King Sahure and a Nome God and Marble Statue of Dionysos leaning on archaistic female figure (Hope Dionysos). You can find these statues in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. King Sahure and a Nome God is an Egyptian art that was made in 2458-2446 BCE. The artist is unknown. It was during the 5th dynasty and it also belong to the old kingdom. The Marble statue of Dionysos Leaning in the archaistic female figure is a Greco-Roman art. Belonging to the Roman imperial period of the late first century A.D. Augustan or Julio-Claudian period 27 B.C., to 68 AD. It is classified as a stone sculpture and it is made out of marble. The height of the statues is 82 ¾ inches. There is no evidence who was the original artist.
Cardinal Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro was the titular of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere from 1887 until his death in 1913. He was also the Archpriest of St. Peter’s and almost declared pope in 1903, but was vetoed on suspicion of being a freemason and promoting views against the triple alliance. His funerary monument was commissioned in 1913, possibly by Pope Pius X. The piece was sculpted in Neo-Baroque design by Enrico Quattrini, and sits in the Cappella Rampolla, one of the side chapels in Santa Cecilia. Cardinal Rampolla’s body was transferred to the tomb in 1929, from his initial burial location in Campo Verno cemetery.
Many art works such as statues are placed throughout the world in different settings. The most common setting for statues is found in funerary settings. The importance of statues in funerary settings is that they are use to project the power the person had before his death. The seated statue of Khafre enthroned from Gizeh, Egypt, illustrates the idealized pharaoh. Another sculpture is Kouros, from Anavysos, Greece that depicts the heroism of Kroisos dying in battle. The Kouros and Khafre are similar in the way that they both radiate power and serve the purpose of honoring the dead men, yet Khafre has a greater significance because it illustrates the pharaoh in a flawless form and the audience can tell that he was a great ruler by the perfect cut sculpture.
Even the few sculptor’s names known to us, usually by chance, from the imperial period are Greek names and seem to confirm the assumption that these artists’ work should be regarded simply as a late phase of Greek art” (Hanfmann, 12). The Greeks were the first western culture to figure out how to accurately depict the human form which they did through the use of geometric ratios. It is also widely accepted that it was even Greek artists who first made marble portraits for the Romans as the Romans originally had no skill with the stone. “It was certainly at first Greek artists who were entrusted by eminent Romans with the execution of portraits of themselves and of important personalities in the Roman state, just as it was Greeks who depicted Aemilius Paulus victory at Pydna and later were largely responsible for the portraits of the emperors” (Kahler 16). The Romans mainly used terracotta for their sculptures and it was only when Augustus reigned that the marble quarries at Carrara were opened and marble was used on a large scale. The Romans inherited the use of realistic proportions, the sense of movement (contrapposto), and the overall beauty of Greek sculptures. A great example of Roman sculpture that was clearly carved by a Greek artist who was familiar with the Hellenistic styles of Greece, is the Relief of the Wedding of Amphitrite and Neptune. It “shows a mythological