Laocoön

The original Laocoön group was sculpted in ca. 25 B.C. (School of Rhodos) and was excavated in Rome in 1506. Greek sculpture inspired the Renaissance ideal of beauty. The story of Laocoön takes place at the end of the Trojan War, in 1184 B.C. As a Trojan priest, he was charged with the cult of the god Poseidon, whom he angered by breaking his oath of celibacy. Laocoön also played a crucial role in the fall of Troy, warning – to no avail – of the wooden horse. Baroque painters took inspiration from the head, a brilliant depiction of human suffering.