Two sculptures I believe to be among the greatest are: Michelangelo’s Pietà and Laocoön and His Sons done by Hagesandros, Athenodoros and Polydoros. The reason I have chosen to compare these two artworks is because, first of all, I believe these to be two of the greatest art pieces ever made by human hands. However, what intrigues me the most is that these two were made hundreds of years apart, yet they bear striking similarities. Laocoön and His Sons was made in the early first century, during the Hellenistic period. The story behind it is most interesting. Lurking in the background of the image we see of the Greek gods being attacked by the serpent is a tale of the Trojan War.

During the war, the Greeks built a giant horse, known as The Trojan Horse, to breech the walls of the great city of Troy. Laocoön, who was a prophet in Troy, warned the Trojans to beware of the horse; and in his anger, he threw a spear at the horse. Immediately, the god Apollo, who was with the Greeks, sent a giant serpent out of the sea to consume Laocoön and his two sons. The Trojans feared Apollo and took it as a sign. They brought the Greek gift into their walls, so as not to offend the gods.

This marble statue, Laocoön and His Sons, which stands eight feet high, is believed to have been made in Rome; however, made by the hands of Greek sculptors. The sculpture was believed to have been commissioned by a Roman patron as part of a revival of the Hellenistic style. The statue was originally found in 1506 in the ruins of Titus’ palace. It now sits in the Vatican Museums in Rome.

Not much is known about the three men who carved Laocoön and His Sons. The impression we get is that they were simply Greek people working in Rome during the Hellenistic Period. Many artists in that time were left anonymous and there were no paintings with a signature of any kind. Most of the artwork signed were found to be Greek names. It is unknown if the Greek artists were in Rome working willingly, or if they were captured slaves working by force.

The statue, which stands eight feet high, is known to have inspired many artists decades later. However, in its time, it was seen as a great masterpiece and thousands of people marvled at its craftsmanship. It’s beauty and emotion was rare, but it was seen as a brilliant work of art. It is unknown how long the three artists spent on this sculpture.

Michelangelo, as a child, didn’t pay much attention in class. He spent most of his time daydreaming and drawing. He loved to draw so much, his father contacted a well-known and highly esteemed artist, Ghirlandiao, and asked him to tutor his son. Girlandiao accepted and Michelangelo studied drawing and painting under him for a full year. However, Michelangelo showed very little progress. His father enrolled him under a sculptor of the Medici family, Bertoldo di Giovanni. During his two years under Giovanni, he lived with the Medicis. Giovanni was not Michelangelo’s only teacher during this time, he also learned from philosophers like Poliziano and Ficino. He looked up to such artists as Leonardo Di Vinci and Giotto; and much of his later work reflects these artists’ works. Despite all his teaching, he claimed later in life that he was self-taught. He developed his skills quickly and mastered marble with such fierceness that was balanced only by the grace he chisled into each of his works.

Michelangelo created one of his greatest masterpieces, Pietà, when he was only twenty-three years old. He began on August 27, 1498 and finished only a year and a half later. Pietà, Italian for ‘pity’, was originally created for the cardinal’s funeral monument but was moved to St. Peter’s Basilica because it was to be part of the ‘most beautiful work of marble in Rome’ (David G. Wilkins, Bernard Schultz, and Katheryn M. Linduff. Art Past Art Present. New Jersey : 2005 {pg 276}). Pietà stands at 5’ 8 ½’’, over life-size.

The statue depicts a young Virgin Mary holding her son, Jesus after he had been crucified. The artwork is unique in one perspective because of Mary’s youth being shown, but more so, the calm expression on her face and how relaxed she looks. In the past, Mary had been shown as an older woman with a lot of emotion and weeping.

The fact that in the Pietà, the figures are clothed is the only significant difference between that and the other statue. Another difference is the facial expressions. I stated earlier how relaxed Mary’s face looked and Jesus was dead, so, he couldn’t exactly have an expression except that of a dead person; which Michelangelo did a great job showing. In Laocoon and His Sons, we see the great struggle they’re going through fighting the serpent. Their muscles are tensed up, their bodies are twisted and we can actually see movement. The serpent causes our eyes to move around the picture and actually draws us into the image, as if it were really happening before us. We see their facial expressions. They have sad eyes and their mouths are open in a scream of terror. We can easily see how scared they are as Laocoon is bitten by the serpent and his sons are being crushed by the strength of the serpent.

One of the most noticible similarities between the two sculptures is the accurate attention to anatomy. The most plausible reason for this is that Michaelangelo is believed to have been greatly inspired by Hellenistic art. Although, we know he was not inspired by Laocoön and His Sons directly because it was not discovered until eight years later. The detail is extrordinary! The muscles on Laocoön and his sons, as well as on Jesus, are extremely accurate. Also, the attention to the folds in the cloth on Mary and the cloths Laocoön and his sons are sitting on are greatly focused. We can see how Jesus is resting on Mary’s legs and how she is supporting him with her hand under his right arm. We see clearly how the sash Mary is wearing goes between her breasts and seemingly holds her clothing to her body as a sash would really do. We can see how Mary’s clothing drapes around the entire figure, folding and creasing in accordance to where it is placed. The clothes around Laocoön and His Sons are probably sashes they might have been wearing.

What is truly amazing is how the artists all managed to get feet and hands well proportioned and detailed. Nowadays, we hear about how many people struggle with drawing hands, but these artists carved them, without being able to ‘undo’ anything. In the past, we’ve seen how people attempt to create reality by shading clothing in paintings and carving folds in fabric in statues. However the Hellenistic Period is when all that became really distinct. We see a dramatic increase in details during this time. We see in both figures how they also added great detail to hair and even face structure. It’s as if Michelangelo was trying to make Mary actually look appealing and young. We see, however, that in contrast, Michelangelo’s figures are clothed and he made it a point to cover up Jesus. Although, we see the Greek artists made not attmept to cover up Laocoön and His Sons.

Another great similarity between these two, although often overlooked, is that they were both inspired by their beliefs. Although we consider the ‘gods’ mythology, many people took Greek Mythology seriously and it was often reflected in their art works. Likewise, Michelangelo was a professing Christian and often refelcted this in his artworks.

Michelangelo had attempted to create somewhere around four more statues with a similar message to the Pietà, but never finished any of them. However, after he completed the first one, he had overheard many people giving credit for the statue to other artists. He grew angry and, in his rage, carved his name into the sash of Mary. Later, he stated that he greatly regretted letting his emotions get the best of him and never signed another piece of art. Prior to making the Pietà, Michelangelo was not a very well known artist. However, after a year and a half of hard work, he quickly became known as one of the greatest artists of his time.

Whether it’s first century art, or art fourteen hundred years later, we see that there are many similarities. Artists come and go, but what they depict and how they depict it all seems to be based on the same thing: their passion for art. They work hard and long to finish their art so that we may enjoy the beauty and splendor of what they have created. It is great artists and artworks like those explained in this paper that inspire and willed inspire many artists that were and are to come.