| Object Number: | D_EDM_0125 | |
| Date: | 1921 | |
| Category: | Drawings and Paper | |
| Material: | Paper | |
| Dimensions: | Height 660 mm, Width 472 mm |
The statue of Laocoön and His Sons (also called the Laocoön Group) depicts the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons being attacked by sea serpents. It is considered to be the prototypical icon of human agony in Western art. It was excavated in Rome in 1506 and placed on public display in the Vatican. The discovery of the Laocoön made a great impression on Italian artists. Michelangelo is known to have been particularly impressed by the massive scale of the work and its sensuous aesthetic, particularly its depiction of the male figures. The Laocoön Group rapidly became known all over Europe through small reproduction models and prints and its importance for artists continued into the Victorian period. Evelyns study of this painting concentrates on a section of the overall group and depicts one of the sons becoming entwined with and constricted by a serpent. The rendering conforms with Michelangelos reading of the work and concentrates on the muscular beauty of the boys form, the sensuous smoothness of the marble and the three-dimensionality of her subject matter which she portrays through her use of textured shading and chiaroscuro – or strong contrasts between light and dark.