Laocoön and His Sons in the context of "Hellenistic art"

Hellenistic sculpture represents one of the most important expressions of Hellenistic culture, and the final stage in the evolution of Ancient Greek sculpture. The definition of its chronological duration, as well as its characteristics and meaning, have been the subject of much discussion among art historians, and it seems that a consensus is far from being reached. The Hellenistic period is usually considered to comprise the interval between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, and the conquest of Egypt by the Romans in 30 BC. Its generic characteristics are defined by eclecticism, secularism, and historicism, building on the heritage of classical Greek sculpture and assimilating Eastern influences.

Among his original contributions to the Greek tradition of sculpture were the development of new techniques, the refinement of the representation of human anatomy and emotional expression, and a change in the goals and approaches to art, abandoning the generic for the specific. This translated into the abandonment of the classical idealism of an ethical and pedagogical character in exchange for an emphasis on everyday human aspects and the directing of production toward purely aesthetic and, occasionally, propagandistic ends. The attention paid to man and his inner life, his emotions, his common problems and longings, resulted in a realist style that tended to reinforce the dramatic, the prosaic, and the moving, and with this appeared the first individualized and verisimilitude portraits in Western art. At the same time, a great expansion of the subject matter occurred, with the inclusion of depictions of old age and childhood, of minor non-Olympian deities and secondary characters from Greek mythology, and of figures of the people in their activities.

Laocoön (/leɪˈɒkoʊˌɒn, -kəˌwɒn/; Ancient Greek: Λᾱοκόων, romanized: Lāokóōn, IPA: [laːokóɔːn], gen.: Ancient Greek: Λᾱοκόωντος) is a figure in Greek and Roman mythology and the Epic Cycle.

Laocoön is a Trojan priest. He and his two young sons were attacked by giant serpents sent by the gods when Laocoön argued against bringing the Trojan horse into the city. The story of Laocoön has been the subject of numerous artists, both in ancient and in more contemporary times.

Depictions of violence have been the subject of considerable controversy and debate for centuries. In particular, violence has appeared in both high culture and film.

Agesander (also Agesandros, Hagesander, Hagesandros, or Hagesanderus; Ancient Greek: Ἀγήσανδρος or Ancient Greek: Ἁγήσανδρος) was one, or more likely, several Greek sculptors from the island of Rhodes, working in the first centuries BC and AD, in a late Hellenistic "baroque" style. If there was more than one sculptor called Agesander they were very likely related to each other. The very important works of the groups of Laocoön and His Sons, in the Vatican Museums, and the sculptures discovered at Sperlonga are both signed by three sculptors including an Agesander.

The Green Vault (German: Grünes Gewölbe; pronounced [ˈɡʁyːnəs ɡəˈʋœlbə]) is a museum located in Dresden, Germany, which contains the largest treasure collection in Europe. The museum was founded in 1723 by Augustus the Strong of Poland and Saxony, and features a variety of exhibits in styles from Baroque to Classicism. The Green Vault is named after the formerly malachite green-painted column bases and capitals of the initial rooms. It has some claim to be the oldest museum in the world; it is older than the British Museum, opened in 1759, but the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg, Russia was opened in 1714 and the Vatican Museums date their foundation to the public display of the newly excavated Laocoön group in 1506.

After the bombing of Dresden during World War II, the Green Vault was completely restored. Today, its treasures are shown in two exhibitions: The Historic Green Vault (Historisches Grünes Gewölbe) is famous for its splendors of the historic treasure chamber as it existed in 1733, while the New Green Vault (Neues Grünes Gewölbe) focuses the attention on each individual object in neutral rooms.

The Royal Academicians in General Assembly is a 1795 oil painting by the English artist Henry Singleton. It depicts the assembled members of the British Royal Academy of Arts in the Council Chamber at Somerset House in London, then the headquarters of the academy. They are judging the various works of art produced by students of the academy. In his diary Joseph Farington noted disagreements amongst the Academicians about their respective placings in the picture. It includes many members who did not actually attend meetings including the two founding female members Angelica Kauffman and Mary Moser.

On the wall on the right is a self-portrait of the first president of the Royal Academy Joshua Reynolds who had died in 1792. Two subsequent presidents are shown in the crowd, his successor the American-born Benjamin West and the young Thomas Lawrence, then an associate of the Royal Academy. West sits on the Presidential throne while to his right in a yellow waistcoat is the architect William Chambers who had designed the building at Somerset House. The noted portraitist William Beechey is included, although he wasn't elected for another three years. There are a number of casts of sculptures on display behind the artists, including the Apollo Belvedere, Borghese Gladiator, Laocoön and His Sons, and Venus de' Medici. The paintings include portraits of George III and Queen Charlotte by Reynolds, Christ Blessing Little Children by West, Spring by Mary Moser, The Tribute Money by John Singleton Copley and Samson and Delilah by John Francis Rigaud.