Portrait Of A Man With His Hand On The Head Of Laocoon's Son

Portrait of a Man Holding the Head of One of the Sons of Laocoön
French or Italian School, early 18th century (circa 1700–1720)
Oil on canvas, antique wooden frame And stucco
Frame 98x83 cm

Portrait of a man wearing a loose brown coat and a white shirt, in the French fashion of the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. His long, curly wig and the sobriety of the setting evoke the ceremonial portraits of the Regency. He places his hand on a rare and symbolic object: the head of one of the sons of the Laocoön group (figure on the right), a detail of the famous ancient sculpture kept in the Vatican Museum.
This fragment gives the work an erudite and singular dimension. Discovered in Rome in 1506, Laocoön and His Sons was immediately celebrated as a summit of ancient sculpture, admired by Michelangelo and widely copied. From the Renaissance onwards, it became an essential study model in art academies and an emblem of "noble pathos" - the ability of art to express suffering and grandeur.
In the France of Louis XIV and the Regency, owning or displaying a replica of the Laocoön was tantamount to placing oneself in the wake of the greatest scholars and collectors of antiquities.
The choice to represent not the entire group, but the expressive head of a son, is revealing: it signals the culture of the sitter and his interest in ancient art, while giving the portrait an intellectual depth.
This could be the portrait of an artist. The ancient mask could indicate that the sitter is a painter, sculptor, collector or that his functions relate to the conservation of works of art, affirming his direct link with the classical heritage.
The Laocoon being then considered as the supreme expression of human passions, this choice can reflect a philosophical reflection on pain, destiny and the eternal truth of art in the face of the brevity of life.
The treatment of the face, lit with softness and modeled with precision, evokes a painter from the circle of Hyacinthe Rigaud and Nicolas de Largillière, masters of French portraiture around 1700. However, the introduction of the antique attribute distinguishes it from classical society portraits and places it in a more erudite vein.

Good general condition, old relining, small usual restorations.