Laocoon's Reception Explored in New Colloquium Publication

The Revue germanique internationale has published 'Le Laocoon, histoire et réception,' proceedings of a colloquium that reexamines the centuries-long fame of the ancient Belvedere statue. The Laocoon group, depicting the Trojan priest and his sons killed by serpents, has been celebrated and parodied across eras. The publication explores its reception from antiquity to modern reinterpretations by artists like Max Ernst, Dalí, Eva Hesse, and Ismaïl Kadaré. Key figures discussed include Winckelmann, Lessing, Clement Greenberg, Aby Warburg, and Carl Justi. The volume covers the statue's discovery near Santa Maria Maggiore, its role in humanism, Lessing's 'Laocoon' treatise, parodic uses in 19th-century caricature, political appropriations, and Warburg's engagement with the work. It also addresses the statue's restorations and its enduring impact on art theory.