William Anthony’s parody of the Laocoön dispenses with the sublime physiognomies of the Hellenistic sculpture, which portrays a Trojan priest and his sons being attacked by serpents. Deflating the noble tragedy of the original, Anthony creates enfeebled, anti-heroic figures who appear more angry than anguished at the fate the gods have dealt them.
William Anthony (b. 1934), Laocoön, 2011, watercolor and graphite on paper. Gift of David and Pamela Chenkin, 2011.21.
© William Anthony