Bust of an agonized man (possibly Laocoön)

2nd century B.C. or 1st century A.D.

Strong human emotions are the hallmark of Hellenistic art. Drunken old women, headstrong children, and weary athletes were popular subjects. These same subjects were also fashionable among the Imperial Roman audience centuries later, a major market for contemporary copies of Hellenistic Greek originals. The agonized man was one of these enduring subjects, seen in copies from small to large scale, of the famous Laocoön group. Based on the man's face and his body torsion, this fragment is either Hellenistic Greek or later Roman.

Marble

16 1/4 x 12 x 7 3/4 in. (41.3 x 30.5 x 19.7 cm)

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection

48.188

Photo: Paul Macapia

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Published ReferencesEngagement Book. Seattle, WA: SAM Guild, 1953, #30

Handbook, Seattle Art Museum: Selected Works from the Permanent Collections, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1951, p. 109 (b&w)

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