Laocoonte Cast

This Laocoonte group casting, taken from the Vatican original, is the highlight of the University of Perugia’s collection of gypsum models, both in terms of the master’s inventivity and of the fine craftsmanship of this duplicate. The piece, located in the upper room of the Palazzo Pontani’s former warehouses, was among the Archaeological Institute’s first acquisitions following its foundation by Filippo Magi who imagined and oversaw the Gipsoteca’s creation.

The vibrant pathos of this Hellenistic sculpture gives life to the Trojan prophet, rising up to defend himself and his two sons from the clutches of Poseidon’s sea serpents; the father is the central of three figures around whom the coils twine giving the impression that Virgil’s scene has come to life; a heroic icon of the struggle against fate. This complete plaster cast features the forearm discovered by Pollack in 1957 and reinstated and thus works as a testament to the educational value of plaster casts, bearing witness to the vicissitudes of history on artworks.