Describe the Laocoon and discuss the artist's interpretation of the subject matter
Describe the Laocoon and discuss the artist’s interpretation of the subject matter
The Laocoon is a Hellenistic sculpture from either the third or second century BC, and it depicts the demise of the Trojan priest and his two sons. The scene is lifted from Homer’s The Iliad, when the gods send sea serpents to kill Laocoon to stop him from warning the inhabitants of Troy about the Greeks hidden inside the large wooden horse delivered to the city gates.
The multifigural sculpture shows great sculptural expertise, which is shown in the depth and detail of the carvings, for example in Laocoon’s hair and beard, and the drapery. He has also managed to portray a great amount of emotion on the faces of the figures, making the scene more dramatic. Both Laocoon and the son on his left look intensely distressed, which heightens the apprehension of the moment.
The angles and positioning of the body and musculature also not only show great craftsmanship, but once again emphasise the drama. Laocoon has extremely idealised musculature, and his body is very powerful, however this is in contradiction with the expression on his face, which is helpless and desperate. The artist has amplified the tragedy of the scene by giving Laocoon an extremely powerful body, however shows that he can do nothing to help his two sons. The way the priests muscles and sinews have been carved show how much effort Laocoon is putting into his struggle with the serpents, but in vain.
The sculpture is very dynamic, with large amounts of movement shown in the positioning of the figures. Much energy and force is evident in their bodies, but also the bodies of the sea serpents, which the artist has cleverly used to disguise the breaks between the five different blocks of marble that the artist used to make the large sculpture.
The composition of the sculpture is very clever, as looking at the sculpture from (our) left to (our) right, the figures range from dead, to imminent death, to about
The Laocoon is a Hellenistic sculpture from either the third or second century BC, and it depicts the demise of the Trojan priest and his two sons. The scene is lifted from Homer’s The Iliad, when the gods send sea serpents to kill Laocoon to stop him from warning the inhabitants of Troy about the Greeks hidden inside the large wooden horse delivered to the city gates.
The multifigural sculpture shows great sculptural expertise, which is shown in the depth and detail of the carvings, for example in Laocoon’s hair and beard, and the drapery. He has also managed to portray a great amount of emotion on the faces of the figures, making the scene more dramatic. Both Laocoon and the son on his left look intensely distressed, which heightens the apprehension of the moment.
The angles and positioning of the body and musculature also not only show great craftsmanship, but once again emphasise the drama. Laocoon has extremely idealised musculature, and his body is very powerful, however this is in contradiction with the expression on his face, which is helpless and desperate. The artist has amplified the tragedy of the scene by giving Laocoon an extremely powerful body, however shows that he can do nothing to help his two sons. The way the priests muscles and sinews have been carved show how much effort Laocoon is putting into his struggle with the serpents, but in vain.
The sculpture is very dynamic, with large amounts of movement shown in the positioning of the figures. Much energy and force is evident in their bodies, but also the bodies of the sea serpents, which the artist has cleverly used to disguise the breaks between the five different blocks of marble that the artist used to make the large sculpture.
The composition of the sculpture is very clever, as looking at the sculpture from (our) left to (our) right, the figures range from dead, to imminent death, to about