Reborn as a great painter, with a system, you can be willful

The Vatican Museums, an open-air space that houses many exquisite sculptures, are bustling with people.

In front of each sculpture, there are tourists taking photos.

Jiang Zhe stood in the crowd, getting as close as possible to the sculpture of Laocoön, which is regarded as one of the greatest sculptures in human history.

He really wanted to admire this masterpiece quietly by himself without any disturbance, but that was just a wish.

When the actual conditions are not met, we can only block out all interference as much as possible and appreciate the sculpture without any preconceived emotions.

His eyes wandered over the sculpture, taking in every detail.

The father and his two sons are entangled by two sea snakes, forming the entire sculpture group. Laocoon, with his hair and beard standing out, has a distorted face; when he struggles with all his might, his body twists and his muscles bulge; on both sides of the sculpture group are Laocoon's two sons, who are entangled by two sea snakes.

Jiang Zhe moved his feet and looked at the sculpture from different angles.

No matter from which angle you view it, you can't help but marvel at it. Regardless of who the author is, he has developed the expressive language of sculpture to an extreme.

The use of hard stone to represent the character's skin and beard, the material of the clothes on the base, and the smooth texture of the sea snake, etc., can all be achieved, allowing the audience to understand the resemblance at a glance.

This is only part of the merits of the work.

The group sculpture of three people and two snakes unfolds in a limited space.

The sculptor made full use of the space. The father and his two sons have different movements and expressions, but they also echo each other. The two sea snakes perfectly connect the three people together, enriching the spatial level and highlighting Laocoon's main position, expressing the tragic atmosphere with limited space.

Every detail of the sculpture is a perfect masterpiece.

Admiring this sculpture, Jiang Zhe didn't know what words to use to describe this beauty, but he could understand why Westerners are willing to promote and collect exquisite sculptures.

He thought of the plaster statue of Laocoön that he had drawn in his sketching class. It was a replica, missing many details. Only by seeing the original up close could one understand the language of sculpture.

For example, muscles and structures become twisted due to exertion, and even bulging blue veins can be seen on the skin, and the blood flow can be faintly felt under the skin.

In addition to making people marvel at the artist's skills, these details also lead the audience to understand that the sculpture is meant to express a struggling soul, or tragedy and pain.

When Jiang Zhe was looking at the sculptures, his mind was quickly immersed in understanding and enjoyment, and he had forgotten about the interference from the outside world.

Seeing that Jiang Zhe was so engrossed, Francesca did not say anything to disturb him.

She admired Jiang Zhe more and more for being able to study and learn so selflessly in such an environment. Perhaps this is one of the conditions for becoming an artist.

She aspired to be an excellent curator, gradually got to know many painters, and became more and more convinced of the importance of talent and hard work.

When Jiang Zhe read the details that interested him, his attention was diverted from his perception and he had other associations, such as the process of discovering the sculpture that Francesca just described.

He looked at the seam of the right arm of the sculpture Laocoön and recalled the photos of different versions of the sculpture he had seen, some in marble and some in bronze, all copies of the original.

Interestingly, the right arms of these replicas are not identical.

Knowing the excavation process and what happened afterwards, we can understand why Laocoön's right arm was different.

Francesca noticed the change in Jiang Zhe's expression and asked, "You've been looking at it for a long time, what did you think of?"

Jiang Zhe said: "The author carved out the pain of the characters in the story. This kind of pain is different from the pain expressed in religious sculptures. Laocoön's pain is the pain of despair and tragedy. You can see that his son's expression seems to be complaining about Laocoön."

He shifted his position, staring at the open mouth of the sea serpent, and asked Francesca, "Is the process of the sculpture excavation you just described a legend, or is there a clear record?"

Francesca said: “The records about the sculpture are very complicated, so I will tell you some information that is generally accepted.

First of all, there was an ancient Roman writer named Lao Pliny. According to his records, there were three outstanding sculptors on the island of Rhodes who collaborated to complete this work.

As time went by, in 1506, a fragment of the sculpture was discovered in a vineyard in Rome.

The specific location where the sculpture was found is not far from the Colosseum in ancient Rome. In ancient Rome, that location was a reservoir. In the Renaissance, the place where the sculpture was found was a vineyard.

Frasisca paused and continued, “I’ve been there before, and standing in that position, I can see the Colosseum in ancient Rome.

According to records, there were two people at the scene when the sculpture was discovered. One was Sangallo, an architect and sculptor during the Renaissance, and the other was the famous Michelangelo.

It is said that when this sculpture was first unearthed, Sangallo believed that this was the sculpture of Laocoön mentioned by Pliny.

At this point, she paused for a moment, and seeing that Jiang Zhe didn't react, she continued: "According to Vasari's records during the Renaissance, the Pope at the time summoned Raphael and Michelangelo to repair the sculpted arm.

Raphael thought the arm should be straight like this, while Michelangelo thought the arm should be bent.

The Pope followed Raphael's advice and carved the arm straight. Jiang Zhe thought that those replicas just kept Raphael's advice.

"Four hundred years later, another fragment was dug out near the site where the sculpture was excavated." Francesca talked about this again and couldn't help laughing: "Everyone found that the original right arm of the sculpture was really bent.

Many people began to comment on Michelangelo's skill, believing that the bent arm could better show the pain of the character. "

When Jiang Zhe heard Francesca's description, which was obviously teasing people who change with the wind, he also smiled.

"But some people began to wonder why Michelangelo knew that the sculpture's right arm was bent?" Francesca said, "Some people's doubts are not completely groundless, because when Michelangelo was young, he made sculptures and various antiques for antique dealers. Even his famous work was a replica of an ancient Greek antique.

He once buried a sculpture of Cupid in the ground to make it look old, and then the antique dealer sold the sculpture to the Medici family.

So, some people began to suspect that the reason why Michelangelo knew that the arm was bent was probably because he sculpted the sculpture himself.

what you think."

Jiang Zhe heard Francesca's question and did not answer directly. Whether he said yes or no, it would offend people.

He whispered, "Even if it's a fake, it's four or five hundred years old. From an artistic point of view, it's a masterpiece. If it's really Michelangelo's work, it only shows how good Michelangelo was."

Francesca said, "You just stared at the sculpture for a long time. I want to hear your opinion of it."

"Didn't I just say that?"

Francesca explained, “When you become a famous painter, I will write down your comments and maybe tell them to others as a topic of conversation to show off.”

Jiang Zhe looked into Vlasica's eyes, thought for a moment, and then said, "The author of this sculpture shows a character or mental state by showing the posture and expression of the characters. The sculpture of a tragic character really shows the soul. The extreme and intense pain is not only shown on Laohong's face, but also in every detail.

Art has a delicate balance between pain and solemnity. To create such an outstanding work of art, the artist must really feel deeply in his heart the spirit he wants to express. "

When Jiang Zhe said this, he paused and suddenly smiled: "What I just said can be put on paper, but if it is evaluated privately, I will change it."

Francesca, who had been listening very seriously, was also amused by Jiang Zhe's turn of events.

“I especially want to hear real comments.”

"Laocoon's expression is a normal reaction when a person is in great pain. It is very reasonable for him to scream loudly. In addition, it is consistent with what is described in Greek epics.

There is a very apt saying to summarize the appreciation of this artistic style: For some great works of art, a certain degree of emotion is expressed by extremely ugly deformation.

I remember the German poet Goethe said that there are three feelings towards one's own suffering or the suffering of others: fear, terror and sympathy.

Laocoön's work contains all three emotions at the same time, and his high degree of tragedy inspires people's imagination.

Therefore, when evaluating the sculpture of Lagaokong, we can use this sentence: noble safety and lonely greatness. "

"I think that's a very accurate assessment," Francesca said.

Jiang Zhe said: "We have wasted too long here, let's go to the next one."

As soon as he left the place where Laocoön was placed, he heard the system prompt sound.

However, there are so many exquisite sculptures here and so many tourists that it is not convenient to view them all.

While he was admiring other sculptures, he found an opportunity to open the system page and saw the prompt:

You observe exquisite sculptures such as Laocoön in the museum, gain some insights, and trigger a long-term quest.

Study classic sculptures, learn related skills, and try to create sculptures using materials such as marble and bronze.

This is a long-term task, which requires the completion of at least three sculptures that are evaluated as excellent.

The system will issue corresponding rewards based on your creative process and the level of your work.

Jiang Zhe closed the page and thought as he walked.

He had no intention of creating sculptures.

Fortunately, this mission is a long-term mission with no time limit. I will talk about it later when I have this intention.

"Jiang Zhe, let me take a photo for you here." Francesca called Jiang Zhe. (End of this chapter)