Why did El Greco paint Laocoön?

The Laocoön is an oil painting created between 1610 and 1614 by Greek painter El Greco. Laocoön and his sons were strangled by sea serpents, a punishment sent by the gods after Laocoön attempted to warn his countrymen about the Trojan horse.

Who painted Laocoon and His Sons?

Agesander of Rhodes
Athenodoros of RhodesPolydorus of Rhodes
Laocoön and His Sons/Artists

Where did El Greco paint Laocoön?

Toledo
El Greco painted the scene of Laocoön and his sons in front of Toledo, the city where he lived and the former capital of Spain. He painted Toledo instead of Troy, which is the city where the horse is sent according to Greek mythology.

Was the Laocoön painted?

Widespread interest in the story of Laocoön, a mythical priest of Troy, developed after an ancient, monumental sculpture representing him and his two sons was unearthed in 1506 in Rome. Whatever the case, the story of Laocoön is the only classical theme he is known to have painted.

What is the meaning of Laocoon?

: a Trojan priest killed with his sons by two sea serpents after warning the Trojans against the wooden horse.

Why are Laocoön and his sons being attacked?

According to legend, Laocoön was a priest from Troy, who—along with his two sons, Antiphantes and Thymbraeus—was attacked by sea serpents sent by a god. In some accounts, for example, Laocoön’s fate was punishment for attempting to expose the Trojan Horse trick.

Did Michelangelo make the Laocoön?

Michelangelo’s close involvement with the sculpture and its evident influence on his later works have always introduced a touch of intrigue into the discovery. Columbia University art historian Lynn Catterson has even advanced the theory that the sculptor of the “Laocoön” was, in fact, Michelangelo himself.

Why did Athena killed Laocoön and his two sons?

Laocoön did not give up trying to convince the Trojans to burn the horse, and Athena made him pay even further. She sent two giant sea serpents to strangle and kill him and his two sons. In another version of the story, it was said that Poseidon sent the sea serpents to strangle and kill Laocoön and his two sons.

How did El Greco come up with the story of Laocoon?

El Greco’s use of Toledo as the backdrop for his depiction of Laocoön’s death may be based on local folklore that the people of Toledo descended from the Trojans. In the painting, the Trojan horse moves towards the city, a reminder of Laocoön’s failed attempt to convince his countrymen of the trap.

What was the story of Laocoon and his sons?

The painting depicts the Greek and Roman mythological story of the deaths of Laocoön, a Trojan priest of Poseidon, and his two sons Antiphantes and Thymbraeus. Laocoön and his sons were strangled by sea serpents, a punishment sent by the gods after Laocoön attempted to warn his countrymen about the Trojan horse.

Why did Laocoon say I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts?

The phrase “I fear the Greeks even bearing gifts” is attributed to him. According to one source, he was the priest of Apollo and should have been celibate; however, he had married and had two sons. As a punishment, the god sent giant snakes that killed his sons and left him alive in order to suffer. A different source accounts the way he died.

How long did El Greco stay in Rome?

El Greco stayed in Rome for seven years, and even opened a studio, but failed to win public commissions. Notoriously prickly and outspoken, El Greco reportedly offended influential Romans after declaring that the city’s much-beloved Michelangelo did not know how to paint.