Nicolo Boldrini, Woodcut of Titian’s
Monkey Laocoon, 1545
Later in his life, Titan caricatured
the Laocoon, literally
"aping" it in a parody in which he showed the figures of the sculpture
group as monkeys. Titian seems to be mocking the extreme reverence
given to the ancient sculpture from the time of its discovery. His
original "Monkey Laocoon" doesn't survive, but is preserved for us in a
woodcut copy made by Nicolo Baldrini.
