Figure 70: Head of the Laocoön of Rome
1854–56, printed 1862
Medium
Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions
Image (Oval): 28.2 × 20.3 cm (11 1/8 × 8 in.) Sheet: 29.1 × 21.4 cm (11 7/16 × 8 7/16 in.) Mount: 40.3 × 28.6 cm (15 7/8 × 11 1/4 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Buddy Taub Foundation Gift, Dennis A. Roach and Jill Roach, Directors; Harris Brisbane Dick and William E. Dodge Funds; and W. Bruce and Delaney H. Lundberg Gift, 2013
Accession Number
2013.173.39
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the mid-19th century, physiologist Guillaume-Benjamin-Amandenne de Boulogne collaborating with photographer Adrien Tournachon pioneered the use of photography to document facial expressions. *Figure 70: Head the Laocoön of* (1854–56, printed 1862) is an exquisite albumen silver print from glass negative, capturing theished visage from the ancient Hellenistic sculpture *Laocoön and His Sons*. This iconic marble group, rediscovered in 1506 near Rome, depicts the Trojan priest Laocoön and his sons entwined by sea serpents—a dramatic symbol of human suffering that profoundly influenced Renaissa...
About the Artist
Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne de Boulogne|Adrien Tournachon (French|French) · 1806 |1825 –1875 |1903
French, 1806–1875|French, 1825–1903