Laocoon : An essay on the limits of painting and poetry
by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
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According to Greek mythology, Laocoon was a Trojan priest who, along with his two sons, offended the gods. As punishment, the three were strangled by sea serpents. The discovery in 1506 of an ancient Greek sculpture showing the three figures in their death agony not only gave rise to renewed interest in the classical period but also created repercussions in the art world. It was this work of art that German dramatist and critic Gotthold Lessing used as a point of reference for his essay show more Laocoon. Originally published in 1766, Lessing's inspired meditation on the distinguishing characteristics of painting and poetry became a turning point in the study of Western art. His essay on the origins, forms, and influences of these art forms aided in framing modern conceptions of the artistic medium and helped establish modernist views of the uniqueness of the individual arts. A breakthrough vision in aesthetics, Laocoon is essential reading for anyone interested in poetry, art history, and the fine arts. show lessTags
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> Babelio : https://www.babelio.com/livres/Lessing-Laocoon/170589
> Gallica : https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k56883287
> DÉCULTOT Élisabeth, « Le Laocoon, de Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.
De l'imagination comme fondement d'une nouvelle méthode critique »
In: Les Études philosophiques, 2003/2 (n° 65), p. 197-212. … ; (en ligne),
DOI : 10.3917/leph.032.0197.
URL : https://www.cairn.info/revue-les-etudes-philosophiques-2003-2-page-197.htm
> L'ART, C'EST L'HOMME. — « Les arts plastiques, par l'influence qu'ils exercent immanquablement sur le caractère de la nation, ont un pouvoir qui doit attirer l'attention du législateur. Si une belle génération d'hommes produit de belles statues, celles-ci à leur tour agissent sur ceux-là, show more et l'Etat a dû en partie la beauté de ses hommes à ces œuvres. »
—G. E. Lessing, Laocoon (1766). Hermann, 1990. show less
> Gallica : https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k56883287
> DÉCULTOT Élisabeth, « Le Laocoon, de Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.
De l'imagination comme fondement d'une nouvelle méthode critique »
In: Les Études philosophiques, 2003/2 (n° 65), p. 197-212. … ; (en ligne),
DOI : 10.3917/leph.032.0197.
URL : https://www.cairn.info/revue-les-etudes-philosophiques-2003-2-page-197.htm
> L'ART, C'EST L'HOMME. — « Les arts plastiques, par l'influence qu'ils exercent immanquablement sur le caractère de la nation, ont un pouvoir qui doit attirer l'attention du législateur. Si une belle génération d'hommes produit de belles statues, celles-ci à leur tour agissent sur ceux-là, show more et l'Etat a dû en partie la beauté de ses hommes à ces œuvres. »
—G. E. Lessing, Laocoon (1766). Hermann, 1990. show less
Dec 15, 2022French
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Lessing, one of the outstanding literary critics of all time, was "the first figure of European stature in modern German literature." The son of a Protestant pastor, he was educated in Meissen and at Leipzig University, then went to Berlin as a journalist in 1749. While employed as secretary to General Tauentzien (1760--65), he devoted his leisure show more to classical studies. This led to his critical essay Laocoon (1776), in which he attempted to clarify certain laws of aesthetic perception by comparing poetry and the visual arts. He fought always for truth and combined a penetrating intellect with shrewd common sense. He furthered the German theater through his weekly dramatic notes and theories, found mainly in the Hamburg Dramaturgy (1769), which he wrote during his connection with the Hamburg National Theater as critic and dramatist (1768--69). His plays include Miss Sara Sampson (1755), important as the first German prose tragedy of middle-class life; Minna von Barnhelm (1767), his finest comedy and the best of the era; and his noble plea for religious tolerance, Nathan the Wise (1779). (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Laocoon: An Essay on the Limits of Painting and Poetry; Laocoon : An essay on the limits of painting and poetry
- Original title
- Laokoon oder über die Grenzen der Mahlerey und Poesie
- Original publication date
- 1766
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- ISBNs
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- ASINs
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