Michelangelo was present for the excavation of this next sculpture "Laocoon and his Sons."The right arm was missing and there was debate over how the arm was actually positioned. The Pope had an informal contest asking sculptors to design an arm for the statue. All of the sculptures positioned the arm out straight in a heroic gesture. Michelangelo however did not, based on his knowledge of anatomy, Michelangelo positioned the arm bent, as seen in his drawings. It was judged by Raphael and the winner, who positioned the arm out stretched, was attached to the statue.
The statue, which was probably originally commissioned for the home of a wealthy Roman, was unearthed in 1506 near the site of the Golden House of the Emperor Nero (who reigned from 54 to 68 AD), and it is possible that the statue belonged to Nero himself. Nero was not a nice man, and his name was vowed to be forgotten after his death. We learned a great deal about Nero, he became emperor at the age of 14 and committed suicide (before his friends and foe's could kill him) at the age of 28. He said "What an artist the world is losing" over and over before he had enough courage to slide the dagger into his throat. Seriously a BAD man! Okay back to statues, Lacoon and his sons, an amazing statue!
It was in 1906 that the arm was discovered by Ludwig Pollak, an archaeologist/art dealer and it was presented to the Vatican Museums as the missing arm of Lacoon. It remained in their storerooms for half a century, in the 1950s the museum decided that this arm—bent, as Michelangelo had suggested—had originally belonged to this Laocoön. The statue was dismantled and reassembled with the new arm incorporated. There are many copies of this statue, many still show the arm in the outstretched position. Some of the copies have been corrected.
Apllo Belvedere
The statue, which was probably originally commissioned for the home of a wealthy Roman, was unearthed in 1506 near the site of the Golden House of the Emperor Nero (who reigned from 54 to 68 AD), and it is possible that the statue belonged to Nero himself. Nero was not a nice man, and his name was vowed to be forgotten after his death. We learned a great deal about Nero, he became emperor at the age of 14 and committed suicide (before his friends and foe's could kill him) at the age of 28. He said "What an artist the world is losing" over and over before he had enough courage to slide the dagger into his throat. Seriously a BAD man! Okay back to statues, Lacoon and his sons, an amazing statue!It was in 1906 that the arm was discovered by Ludwig Pollak, an archaeologist/art dealer and it was presented to the Vatican Museums as the missing arm of Lacoon. It remained in their storerooms for half a century, in the 1950s the museum decided that this arm—bent, as Michelangelo had suggested—had originally belonged to this Laocoön. The statue was dismantled and reassembled with the new arm incorporated. There are many copies of this statue, many still show the arm in the outstretched position. Some of the copies have been corrected.
Apllo BelvedereWhite Marble, Greek God Apollo
Date created - 100 - 200 AD
Date created - 100 - 200 AD
The ceilings, walls, floors, everything was amazing. Some of the ceilings looked to be carved marble but in fact it was just how they were painted, even the molding was an optical illusion. I could have spent another week or two in the Vatican and around Rome!
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