Lacoon and Sons

The art of the Hellenistic period is renowned for beautiful and dramatic works depicting heroic idealised figures in intricate and extreme poses. This style developed from an interest in naturalistic observation and narrative based on artistic innovation and newfound ideas in philosophy, science and mathematics. The stylistic changes were encouraged by the competition of the city-states of the empire after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE. This is recognised as the beginning of the Hellenistic period where art no longer portrayed gods to worship, but became a way of telling stories and displaying artistic skills. Hellenism continued even after, 146 BCE when Egypt and its Greek allies came under control of the Roman Empire until about 30 BCE. The Romans were intrigued by the bold, graphic Greek art displaying scenes of combat. It soon became highly demanded and valued as collectables.

The preservation of this culture stems not only from the Romans interest in Greek art but also in the fifteenth century during a revival of classical culture, better known as the Renaissance. This allowed many art works to be around today such as the marble statue Laocoon and his sons. It depicts the scene of the Trojan priest Laocoon and his twin sons being attacked by snakes. It was discovered in 1506 in the ruins of Emperor Titus’ palace just outside of Rome, it is now located in the Vatican Museum. It has been attributed to Athanadorus, Hagesandros and Polydorus of Rhodes and its date has been estimated around the early first century BCE. It exhibits common stylistic features of Classicism and Hellenism, such as, idealism, pagan subjects, naturalism, use of narrative, dramatic poses and an interest in emotional content.

The sculpture possesses stylistic characteristics, such as in the round or ‘all antica’ carving, intricate details of form, the suggestion of psychological content, and classical subjects. It conveys style from the earlier classical period but...