In this paper I will compare and contrast two pieces of art work that are religious in nature. Through these pieces, I will show a theme of depicting death as heroic and beautiful, though painful and horrific.
The first piece that I selected is a marble statue made in Hellenistic Greece (323-31 BCE.). It was sculpted by Hagesandros, Polydoros, and Athenodoros and is titled “Laocoon and His Two Sons.” The second piece is an oil painting on wood panel made during the Baroque time era (1590-1750 CE.). It was painted by Peter Paul Rubens and is titled “Fall of the Damned.”
The sculpture of Laocoon is from the tales of Homer. It deals with the Trojan War and, in particular, the fabled Trojan Horse. Laocoon was a Trojan hero and a priest. Upon seeing the Trojan Horse, he told the Trojans not to accept “the gift” from their enemies, the Greeks. The Trojans did not heed his warning and accepted the Horse. That evening, the Greeks came out of a secret door and slew the Trojans. Laocoon attempted to flee Troy with his sons. He was attacked and killed by sea serpents, sent by Poseidon, before the walls of Troy. This sculpture is a depiction of that moment.
Though this piece is mythological in nature, it does not serve a religious purpose. It was probably created for the rich to own and enjoy for their own pleasures. Many pieces similar to this (late Hellenistic style) were placed in gardens or transported to Rome. It has also been said that this piece was possibly created for the Roman Emperor Tiberious.
I feel that this piece is a fantastic image from the Hellenistic era. It contains many Hellenistic traits: detailed hair, deep set eyes, not in religious context, and does not represent nobility. One can see why this piece came to influence so many of the Renaissance artists. Laocoon’s emotions are pouring forth in his facial expression as well as his muscular strain. He is in agony and reaches into my own emotional state. Though this image is depicting a man facing death, Laocoon is shown in full glory. His muscles ripple and veins swell, as he tries to free himself from the serpent. You can sense his fear and pain, but he continues to struggle for his life. The diagonal form of his body is amazing, Laocoon stretching to be free. All of these traits are also seen in Laocoon’s sons, especially the son on the left side (his agony is quite apparent). This is a beautiful image of man versus nature/the gods. As are all late Greek pieces, this shows amazing contra posto and detail. The beauty in this piece is everywhere; the emotion spewing forth, the tension, the fear in their eyes, the pain in their bodies, and primarily the depiction of man (in all his nude glory).
The “Fall of the Damned” illustrates that moment when the Bible states that “the blessed will be raised to Heaven and the damned forever consigned to Hell.” This painting was commissioned for a Jesuit church in Neuberg, Germany.
This painting has been said to be “one of the most powerful works of the visual imagination ever created by an artist.” The contrasts between light and dark are what start to stir the viewer’s emotions. The tumbling naked bodies make one feel helpless and fearful. This piece is religious in nature and exemplifies the point of the painting; the damned consigned to Hell. If I believed in Hell, this is what it would look like. There is no escape from Hell, and this image depicts that very well: tormented bodies spiraling down with demons everywhere, the damned having no hope, evil devouring the damned (the hydra and biting devils), and fire surrounding the picture.
Rubens was, undoubtedly, inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy for this piece. John Milton’s Paradise Lost was, in turn, probably inspired by “Fall of the Damned.” The following are descriptions of Hell by Milton in Paradise Lost.
Book VI
Down from the verge of heaven, eternal wrath
Burnt after them to the bottomless pit.
…Encumbered him with ruin: hell at last
Yawning received them whole, and on them closed,
Hell their fit habitation fraught with fire
Unquenchable, the house of woe and pain.
Book XI
…Immediately a place
Before his eyes appeared, sad, noisome, dark
A lazar-house it seemed, wherein were laid
Numbers of all diseased, all maladies
Of ghastly spasm, or racking torture, qualms
Of heart-sick agony, all feverous kinds…
Demonic frenzy, moping melancholy
And moon-struck madness, pining atrophy,
Marasmus, and wide-wasting pestilence,
Dropsies, and asthmas, and joint-racking rheums.
Dire was the tossing, deep the groans, despair
Tended the sick busiest from couch to couch;
And over them triumphant Death his dart
Shook, but delayed to strike, though oft invoked
With vows, as their chief good, and final hope.
Sight so deform what heart of rock could long
Dry-eyed behold?
Upon reading through Paradise Lost, and in particular these two passages, I am positive that Rubens influenced one of the greatest achievements in literature with this painting. The images that come to mind from Milton’s writings are depicted in “Fall of the Damned”!
This piece exemplifies the beauty of man, while facing unavoidable death. Rubens masterfully treats each character as an individual, and gives them all special attention and detail (just look at even the obese figures as well as the demons). Even though all the people are damned (except for St. Michael), they all seem heroic, in true Rubenesque form. This piece is simply amazing due to the emotions that it imposes upon the viewer: breathtaking, excitement, fear, wonder, and praise.
Both of these pieces are marvels to the artistic achievement of mankind. They both show a masters’ knowledge of the human body and form. “Fall of the Damned” is, by far, the more religious of the two pieces. I feel that there is a heavy influence on present artists, from those of the past. This is evident in the two pieces that I have chosen. Death is a common theme in art. These two pieces take death to a higher level by appealing to the audiences’ emotions through there depictions being extremely beautiful and heroic. Anyone can see the pain and suffering in the subjects, and sympathize with them, as well as marvel at the supreme beauty of the artworks. These two pieces, “Laocoon and his Two Sons” & “Fall of the Damned”, have influenced art for centuries, and will continue to, because of the truthful representation of man as heroic and beautiful… even while facing death!
Другие работы по теме:
CompareContract Macbeth Essay Research Paper Compare
Compare/Contract Macbeth Essay, Research Paper Compare & Contrast Macbeth and Lady Macbeth The plot of Shakespeare s Macbeth is tragic and bloody, held together with actions based on ambition, the driving force to achieve good or evil. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth can be used as prime examples of people that act upon ambition.
Comparison Contrast Essay Research Paper When one
Comparison Contrast Essay, Research Paper When one is deciding to purchase new furniture there are many options that one can take. One can buy furniture unassembled and assemble it themselves, or you can buy it pre-assembled. But which way is the most efficient way? I feel that buying pre-assembled furniture is a much more efficient method.
Stress Essay Research Paper Many objects and
Stress Essay, Research Paper Many objects and people these days have the ability to be compared and contrasted. For example, compare and contrast a dog and cat. A dog is most commonly a house pet, like a cat. But a dog has more ability to be trained, unlike the cat. It is not the subject of comparing a dog and a cat.
Self Esteem Essay Research Paper I compare
Self Esteem Essay, Research Paper I compare my face to the most beautiful girl in the school. I compare my personality to the sweetest girl in the school. I compare my socialization rate to the most popular girl in the school.
Compare Contrast Essay Research Paper Only Child
Compare Contrast Essay, Research Paper Only Child vs Siblings I want this and I want that is all you here from an only child. There are many differences between an only child and a child who has siblings. My friend is an only child and there are many differences in the way we act. She always thinks of herself first, but that is not a bad thing.
Flowers For Alergon Essay Research Paper Compare
Flowers For Alergon Essay, Research Paper Compare and Contrast Essay Flowers for Algernon Charlie Charlie is a character from the story Flowers for Algernon and the movie Charlie . He is mentally challenge.
Compare And Contrast Goundhog Essay Research Paper
Compare and Contrast Groundhog s Day and The Fall Steve Perri George Brown These two works have a very similar story to them. In Groundhog s Day, Bill Murray s character, Phil is stuck in the same day until he can become truly happy. In The Fall, the main character is suffering from an identity crisis. As we watch and read we find that these two people have a very similar predicament.
Westside Story Essay Research Paper Romeo
Westside Story Essay, Research Paper Romeo & Juliet and Westside Story The plays Romeo and Juliet and Westside Story have many similarities and differences. One major compare and contrast in the two,
Contrast In Do Not Weep Maiden For
War Is Kind Essay, Research Paper Contrast in “Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War Is Kind” In the poem “Do Not Weep, Maiden, for War Is Kind” by Stephen Crane, contrast is used to make a statement about the war. The poem shows the different view points of the war, how different people involved in the war, took the war.
Media In Society Essay Research Paper The
Media In Society Essay, Research Paper The media in today?s society plays a very important role. There are two different kinds of media, written and non-written. Written media consists of newspapers and magazines. Non-written media consists of television and radio. These media?s differ in many ways. I am going to compare and contrast the two different types of media in today?s society.
Comparison Of Huck Finn And Tom Sawyer
Essay, Research Paper Question 1: Compare and contrast the personalities of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer are two friends with very different personalities, each bringing their own unique characteristics into this comical relationship.
Compare And Contrast Socrates And Krishna Essay
, Research Paper Plato?s Socrates and, The Bhagavad Gita?s Krishna are two very important characters who have strongly impacted the lives of many. These two characters share many similar qualities, as well as many contrasting qualities. In this essay, I will thoroughly compare and contrast these two remarkable characters.
Sonnet Essay Research Paper The sonnets 130
Sonnet Essay, Research Paper The sonnets, 130 and 292, written by William Shakespeare and Francesco Petrarch, both shows their passionate love towards their woman and it is very interesting to compare and contrast the two. Although their passionate mind was similar, they differ in form, tone, and meaning.
Imagery Trace Light Dark Essay Research Paper
Throughout The Children of Men, there were various significant images, one of which was light/dark contrast. James used light/dark contrast throughout the entire book to set the scene and to outline important events. The light was used to show peace, especially with the females that Theo was attached to.
Get In Essay Research Paper Click Here
Get In Essay, Research Paper Click Here If YOU Have Friends! Can’t find the paper you need? Try Collegiate Care Comparing Casablanca to 1984 Charlie Parker at Storyville
Compare And Contrast Essay Research Paper Throughout
Compare And Contrast Essay, Research Paper Throughout many generations, love and lust has become a part of society that people cannot differentiate between the two feelings. To some, love is a passionate and exciting kind of feeling that only few share and to others, lust is the feeling that most everyone comes to feel though it is the feeling that is mistakenly believed as love.
Compare And Contrast Essay Research Paper 100200English
Compare And Contrast Essay, Research Paper 10/02/00 English 119 Assignment # 2 Comparison and Contrast I have never really thought about my experiences with the birth in a comparison before. I have shared or swapped stories with other mom’s picking out our likenesses. So taking on this assignment has made me see the differences that have occurred between the births of my children.
Compare And Contrast Macbeth
’s And Hamlet’s Madness Essay, Research Paper Madness can be described as an internal flaw that both characters, Hamlet and Macbeth, possess. Although their madness is different in some aspects, it can be said that
Comparecontrast Oldyoung Essay Research Paper CompareContrastOldYoungThere
Compare/contrast Old/young Essay, Research Paper Compare/Contrast Old/Young There are many similarities as well as differences between elderly people and young adults. Older people seem to be more set in their ways. They also seem to know much more in general about most everything. Young adults, on the other hand seem to have a much broader outlook on life.
Compare And Contrast On The Pearl Essay
, Research Paper Compare and Contrast Essay According to The Pearl, the Indians and the Caucasians had the same plans of their own if they owned the pearl. The pearl meant wealth for the Indians. To the whites the pearl meant more power and wealth. Unlike the Caucasian, the Indians had many reasons for desiring the great pearl.
Compare And Contrast On Frost Essay Research
Paper Compare and Contrast on RobertFrost Provide, Provide and PeterMeinke Advice to My Son Robert Frost s Provide, Provide and Peter Meinke s Advice To My Son , these two poems deserve to be compared. Frost s Poem Provide, Provide uses language that is in a fairly straightforward and literal way and states the theme in the final lines.
Old Africa Vs New Africa Essay Research
Paper Old Africa vs. New Africa Aaron S On my essay about “Out of Africa” I will compare and contrast old Africa and new Africa. During the movie Africa was under European power. There were only independent countries. European leaders dictated their government. Africa has since become independent. European power has greatly changed education over the years.
Compare Contrast The Love Between Claudio And
Hero Essay, Research Paper Compare/ contrast the love between Claudio and Hero with Beatrice and Bene*censored*. Whose is Stronger? The lovebetween Bene*censored* and Beatrice was much stronger than the love between Hero and Claudio. One reason Bene*censored* and Beatrice?s love was stronger because the way Hero and Claudio got together was not true love.
Hamlet Essay Research Paper Compare and contrast
Hamlet Essay, Research Paper Compare and contrast between Hamlet and Laertes William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” is known as the best tragedy play of all times. Each one of the characters has their own unique personality, but some of them are very alike. Hamlet, the main character, and Laertes, one of the other leading roles, are very much alike but at the same time slightly different.
So This Was Adolescence By Annie Dillard
: Author Writing Style Essay, Research Paper So This Was Adolescence, by Annie Dillard: Author Writing Style Different authors use different styles of writing to express the ideas.
Compare And Contrast Cults And Religion
Essay, Research Paper Compare and Contrast of Cult and Religion Essay Religion is a sociological device used to protect its members, and it offers them a common system of belief. Religion, whether it is Christianity, Taoism, Judaism, or Hinduism is a set of commonly shared beliefs that bring many people together.
Macbeth Novel Essay Research Paper Compare and
Macbeth Novel Essay, Research Paper Compare and Contrast: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Ambition, the world?s driving force to achieve their goals. Ambition is a characteristic of human nature,
What Is English Essay Research Paper English
What Is English? Essay, Research Paper English, well what is English? We all know that it is a language. But, what is the study of english? It is the study of literature in the english language. People attend english classes. This may be to learn the English Language or to learn about english literature or writing.