When you first hear the word “beauty”, what do you think of? Celebrities dressed in expensive red-carpet gowns that you hopelessly admire from afar? An art gallery filled with sculptures and paintings much too complex for you to interpret? Perhaps a simplistic landscape viewing of the breathtaking natural world? Whatever it may be, the definition of beauty has always depended on the person you are asking and the time period they are in. Clearly, certain things that may have been considered beautiful at one time, may not be deemed as beautiful in today's society. This is why I believe beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.
For the third marking period, I finally decided to read a book on art. After going through the chapter on the renaissance …show more content…
They “did not idealize an abstract body,” but instead saw beauty “through a synthesis of living bodies” (Eco 45). This is why most Greek sculptures and statues depicted real life human features. Muscle definition, bone structure, and fine details, like hair and veins, are among the many important features that these Greek artists included within their pieces of art. Laocoon, the piece to the left, was created in the first century B.C. by Musei Vaticani. Rather than a statue with it’s hands by its side, standing perfectly straight like Egyptian statues,Vaticani created this masterpiece by showing movement and facial expression. Each figure is striking a different pose, which I believe gives the entire piece a sense of uniqueness. The man in the middle, more specifically, Laocoon himself, shows signs of struggle in, not only his arm positions, but also his face. His eyebrows are peaked inward, his forehead shows multiple layers of distressful wrinkles, and his mouth is open in a cry-for-help sort of shape. With such detail, an artist can tell a story without saying a single word. Such talent in doing so truly makes these sculptures and statues