▶ Your Answer :
The reading passage contends that Michelangelo’s Laocoon is a
forgery actually, not the original sculpture in Greek. On the other hand, the
lecturer brings up several points that contradict this argument.
First of all, the lecturer points out that Michelangelo might not
have forged the Laocoon in order to fool his rival, Giuliano da Sangallo. This
is attributed to the fact that Giuliano da Sangallo is virtually his friend,
not his rival. Besides he invited Michelangelo to help identify the Laocoon.
This refutes the author’s point that Michelangelo’s Laocoon might have been
forged to fool his friend.
Moreover, in the lecture, the point is made that the Laocoon’s
outstanding resemblance to a figure in The Last Judgment, Michelangelo’s
painting supports the forgery hypothesis. This is because The Last Judgment
just had a substantial effect on the Laocoon. This casts doubt on the idea in
the reading passage that the similarity of both works was based on the forgery
theory.
The final point made by lecturer is that the fact that during
Renaissance forgery was a routine and accepted artistic practice is not
convincing enough to explain why the Laocoon might be a forgery by Michelangelo.
This is obvious that forgery was regarded an offense at that time, so the
person who forged even could be sentenced to death. This is different from the
passage’s view that artists of the time copied freely ancient works and their
contemporaries’ pieces and Michelangelo’s action, forging might be natural. |