In my previous blog post, I discussed how I took quite a few art history classes at Slippery Rock University. Today I had the pleasure of visiting the Vatican to view more pieces that I learned about. It is one thing to look at pictures of sculptures and paintings, but seeing them in person is such an incredible feeling.
One of my favorite sculptures is called Laocoön and His Sons, which is a piece that was constructed by several sculptors. Upon entering the Vatican, I totally forgot this piece was displayed here. I can assure you I was so excited when I saw this sculpture.
I always liked learning about this piece because of the story behind it. Laocoön wanted to expose the ruse of the Trojan Horse by striking it with a spear. It is said that Poseidon sent the two snakes to kill Laocoön and his two sons. From what I remember from one of the art history classes I took is that the two sons were strangled instantly, while Laocoön was left to suffer alone. There are other versions of the story, but this is the version I was taught.
I think I have always like this piece because you can genuinely see the fear in the boys’ eyes. While I detest snakes, I can remember sitting in the lecture hall, looking at this piece on the PowerPoint and hoping that they could escape these snakes. I appreciate the movement in this sculpture, as you can see each person in this piece trying to rip the snakes off. However, my eyes are drawn to the snake to is about to bite Laocoön in the hip.
Overall, I feel as if Laocoön and His Sons tells an interesting story. Of course, there were other fascinating pieces that I was excited to see.
I stumbled across Michelangelo’s piece Pietà that I have previously learned about. In this piece, Mary is holding the dead body of Jesus. I remember my art history professor critiquing this piece as Mary is huge in comparison to Jesus. While looking looking at pictures of this piece on a PowerPoint, it was very difficult to see that critique. However, in person, I could see it. Regardless, Pietà is a gorgeous piece that shares a story of sadness.
Overall, these two pieces stuck out to me, as I had previous knowledge regarding their history. It was such a pleasure to finally be able to see some of theses pieces. There are so many more pieces I would love to go see, but so little time.