The Art Side in Sculptures

In writing this essay, I will compare and contrast two ancient sculptures. The first is Pieta, above left, which is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture and the only signed sculpture of Michelangelo. In 1498, Michelangelo was commissioned to do a life sized sculpture of the Virgin Mary holding her son in his arms. This sculpture is the first of four that he created and the only one he would finish. This great masterpiece was to be unveiled in St.Peter's Basilica for Jubilee of 1500.

The Second Image is Laocoön and His Sons or Laocoön Group, above right. The life-size sculpture was discovered in 1506 during the Renaissance, and it was originally made in the Hellenistic Era. This sculpture was made by three sculptures from the island of Rhodes whose names were Agesander, Athenodoros, and Polydorus. This sculpture was said to be made in 25 BC. It shows the Trojan priest named Laocoön and his sons Antiphantes and Thymbraeus being pulled down and killed by two sea serpents. Both sculptures are made from marble; they both symbolize life and death.

Pieta was originally made for the cardinal's funeral monument, but it became so much more than that. This work of art portrays the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother, Virgin Mary, after they crucified him. Michelangelo's representation of the Virgin Mary is the best I have ever seen and it's my most favorite sculpture of all time. Michelangelo did not want his construction of the Pieta to represent death as in others, paintings and sculptures he wanted to show the communion between man and God by the sanctification through Christ. Laocoön and His Sons tells a different story. Laocoön and his sons were killed after attempting to expose the deception of the Trojan horse by striking it with a spear to show proof that the horse was not what it was perceived to be and that it was a trap. Both of these stories have similarities that tell of a heroic person trying to help Jesus trying to save our souls but dying on the cross for our sins, and Laocoön dying to save his sons as well as his people from the Trojans that citizens are in danger if they bring in the wooden horse.

The Pieta figure is big 5'6 × 6'4) with Christ as large as an average-sized man whereas the Laocoön and His Sons was much bigger and heavier. This figure was (8' 2.4 feet tall) and much wider than Pieta because this sculpture has three life-sized men standing next to one another with the Laocoön being the biggest piece in the sculpture whereas with Pieta Virgin Mary is sitting down holding Jesus. They are both made of marble stone and both human figures, but they both differ in style. Michelangelo's Pieta was brilliant considering he used a drill but later abandoned it for a claw chisel. This piece was polished several times over in finishing this sculpture. Since it was designed for the Cardinal's tomb, the 5'7 feet tall, was intended to be viewed from the front and at ground level. Mary was seated on the rock of Golgotha that had supported Christ on the cross. Mary