Niccolò Boldrini (ca. 1500 – after 1566), after Titian
Caricature of the Laocoön, 2nd half of the 16th century
Woodcut, ink on paper
H 29.4 × W 42.6 cm
H 11 1/2 × W 16 3/4 inch
H 11 1/2 × W 16 3/4 inch
Bottom left corner
This satirical woodcut by Niccolò Boldrini, based on a drawing attributed to Titian, is a humorous and irreverent reinterpretation of the renowned classical sculpture Laocoön and His Sons, discovered in...
This satirical woodcut by Niccolò Boldrini, based on a drawing attributed to Titian, is a humorous and irreverent reinterpretation of the renowned classical sculpture Laocoön and His Sons, discovered in Rome in 1506 and celebrated as a model of sublime suffering and heroic nudity. Rather than replicating the idealised anatomical forms and pathos of the original Hellenistic group, Boldrini renders the figures as grotesque, hairy apes, mimicking the poses of the tragic Trojan priest and his sons while being attacked by serpents.