6626 - German

German 18th century. The Laocoön Group. Black chalk on light brown paper, mounted on stiff cardboard. 63.1 x 51.5 cm. The marble group, generally dated to the first century A.D., was discovered in seven separate pieces by Felice de Fredis on January 13–14, 1506, in Rome near the church of San Pietro in Vincoli. However, these pieces did not form a complete sculpture. Crucially missing were the right arms of the three figures, as well as most of the upper two snakes attacking the priest. Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli, a pupil of Michelangelo, was commissioned in 1532 to revise and complete the work according to contemporary principles. He created an energetically raised arm for Laocoön, as well as the snake’s mouth, open to bite, on the priest’s torso. However, when a portion of the original arm—bent at the elbow—was discovered in Rome in 1905 by the archaeologist and art dealer Ludwig Pollak, Montorsoli’s reconstruction proved to be incorrect. It was not until 1960 that Filippo Magi attached the rediscovered fragment to the original. Our illustrator chose not to restore the arms. - Please request condition reports for the lots, as the condition is usually not listed in the catalog. - Please ask for condition reports for individual lots, as the condition is usually not mentioned in the catalog.