Laocoön
Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, U.S.A.
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El Greco
Laocoön |
| The style of this painting is clearly that of El Greco: the elongated faces and bodies were a form of creative innovation in a time were art was headed towards a more realistic look. Laocoön was a priest from Greek mythology, best known through Virgil's Aeneid. In the story, Greek soldiers hid in a wooden horse, which was to be interpreted as an offering to their opponent, Troy. The Trojans took the horse into the city, and the Greeks attacked the city from the inside, leading to the fall of Troy. Laocoön was the man who tried to prevent the horse from getting in the city. As a result, Apollo, sent serpents to kill him, for he had broken the rule of celibacy for priests. In the painting, we see Laocoön on the ground, near death with fear, eyeing the serpent that was about to bite him. One of the young men is already dead on the ground, indicating that the gods are not being merciful. The other struggles, with outstretched arms, creating an interesting form with the curve of the snake. We can just barely see the Trojan horse in the background. It was the cause of an oncoming death for Laocoön, and it is much closer to the city than he is. It almost appears to be trotting towards the city as Laocoön struggles with the serpent. We can see the city of Troy in the background, however, the painting is not of Troy, but Toledo, Spain, El Greco's home. This painting was done in a time Catholic Counterreformation. He is using the story of Laocoön to represent the events in Toledo. |
