File:Sculpture, plaster (AM 53809-3).jpg

English: Statue, plaster, Laocoon, male figures reproduced from the antique, original marble sculpture dates from the 2nd century BC, brought to Rome in AD 79, it disappeared then was rediscovered in 1506. In 1878, the Auckland Museum in Princes Street received a gift of 33 casts of antique statuary from a wealthy expatriate Aucklander, Thomas Russell. John Logan Campbell saw the opportunity to establish the first free school of art in Auckland to be located in the Museum. The statues were used as models for figure drawing. Other classical statues were subsequently donated. Laocoon, Greek myth, a priest of Apollo at Troy who warned the Troians against the wooden horse left by the Greeks, killed with his twin sons by two sea serpents. Roman - Augustan ca. 42-21 B.C. Male nudes- Laocoon and his two sons Attributed by Pliny to 3 Rhodian sculptors- Agesandrus, Athenodorus, Polydorusx Height 2.22 m. Marble original- Vatican Museum Rome. Found on the Esquiline Hill in 1506 Replica- Applied Arts Collectionxx Logan Campbell Gallery The Laocoon is a masterpiece of violent movement and despair. The sculpture has a grouping of three male nudes entangled in the coils of two serpents and portrays the agony of the death of Laocoon and his two sons. The Julio-Claudian Imperial House had mythological links with Troy, claiming descent from Aeneas, Laocoon's nephew. According to Homer, Laocoon was the Trojan Priest who warned against the wooden horse. Shortly afterwards, Laocoon and his sons were killed by two sea serpents sent by Athena.xxx The sculpture depicts the attack as it takes place on a draped altar set on three steps and vividly portrays the 'psychological moment' as Laocoon and his sons fight in vain against the inexplicable forces sent to destroy them. The Laocoon is a typical sculpture of the Late Republic and highlights the Hellenistic ideal of 'creating intense sculpture through the expression of emotion and mood'. The Laocoon's composition is spread out in one plane similar to the design of a carved relief. The figures are set on two diagonals from right to left and are portrayed in twisting frontal poses with their right arms raised. The masterly arrangement of the drapery is an interesting design feature of the sculpture. Bibliography and notes- xAristotle Politics 1.5.10,1260b1-3- Artists were jealous of their independence. xxThe plaster replica of the original marble sculpture, was made in the cast workshop of Brucciani's Galleria delle Belle Arti in Russell, St. Covent Garden, London, and was purchased for the Museum in 1878. xxx Virgil. Aeneid, ii,109 ff. The story of Laocoon was a Homeric theme but belonged to the lost legends of the Trojan circle. Virgil wove the essence of the tragedy of Laocoon into his epic poem, the Aeneid. Education Kit ‘Ancient Greek And Roman Collections (Years 11 to 13)’ Auckland Museum Te Papa Whakahiku © Auckland Museum 2002 Death of Laocoon and his sons Augustan, Late Hellenistic phase ca. 42-21 B.C. Plaster copy of the marble original Group of male nudes- Death of Laocoon and his sons Attributed by Pliny to Rhodian sculptors- Agesandrus, Polydorus and Athenodorus Height 2.22 m. Vatican Collection, Belvedere. 74 Found on the Esquiline Hill in 1506 Applied Arts Collection