Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel
Ceiling between 1508-1512, shortly after the discovery of the Laocoon.
Flanking the Genesis scenes that run down the
central spine of the Sistine Ceiling, he painted a series of figures that are
today called ignudi or
nudes.
Many of the ignudi, like the one seen here, pay homage
to the Laocoon and
testify to Michelangelo's interest in the aesthetic qualities of the sculpture,
particularly the complex position of its central figure, its precise anatomy,
and the serpentine torsion of Laocoon's suffering body.
Though Michelangelo's figures assume complex
positions, they don't suffer or struggle as does Laocoon. Instead,
Michelangelo's figures move with grace and agility, testing the physical limits
of their body, rather than struggling for their lives.
