Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Laocoon
16th century
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 19 11/16 x 13 in. (50 x 33 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1941
Accession Number
41.72(2.78)
Tags
Art Historical Context
This striking 16th-century engraving captures the dramatic ancient sculpture of Laocoön and his sons struggling against serpents, a work rediscovered in Rome in 1506 that profoundly influenced Renaissance artists. Created as part of the *Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae* (Mirror of Roman Magnificence), the print belongs to a celebrated series that documented classical antiquities for a wide European audience. Through detailed linework typical of engraving, the image translates the sculpture’s twisting forms and intense emotion into a reproducible format, allowing viewers far from Italy to study...
About the Artist
Claudio Duchetti|Nicolas Beatrizet ( |Italian) · |1565 – |1585
|Italian, active Venice and Rome, ca. 1565–died ca. 1585