Caricature of the Laocoon, Niccolò Boldrini (ca. 1500 - after 1566) engraver

Niccolò Boldrini (Vicenza, ca. 1500 - Venice, after 1566) engraver after a drawing by Titian (Pieve di Cadore, 1488/1490 - Venice, 1576)

Caricature of the Laocoon
Woodcut, ink on paper
2nd half 16th century

H 29,4 × W 42,6 cm
H 11 1/2 x W 16 3/4 inch

This satirical woodcut by Niccolò Boldrini, based on a drawing attributed to Titian, is a humorous and irreverent reinterpretation of the renowned classical sculpture Laocoön and His Sons, discovered in Rome in 1506 and celebrated as a model of sublime suffering and heroic nudity. Rather than replicating the idealised anatomical forms and pathos of the original Hellenistic group, Boldrini renders the figures as grotesque, hairy apes, mimicking the poses of the tragic Trojan priest and his sons while being attacked by serpents.

The composition remains faithful to the Laocoön Group in general structure—three figures (a central mature male flanked by two youths) struggling against coiling serpents—but the substitution of human bodies with simian forms subverts the grandeur and seriousness of the antique model. The apes’ exaggerated expressions and theatrical gestures transform tragedy into farce, exemplifying Renaissance artists’ playful engagement with antiquity.

This type of parody aligns with a broader current in 16th-century Venetian art, where artists like Titian and his circle explored classical forms with both reverence and irony. The satirical intent may comment on the over-idealisation of antique models or function as a humorous exercise in style and anatomy.

Technically, Boldrini’s woodcut is masterful: the dense crosshatching and refined modulation of tone exhibit the influence of Titian’s painterly style adapted to the print medium. Boldrini, known for his collaborations with Titian, often translated the latter’s drawings into woodcuts with remarkable fidelity and inventiveness.
This print should not be read merely as parody; it also represents the broader humanist interest in visual wit and the complex interplay between imitation (imitatio) and invention (inventio) in Renaissance art.

References:

Bury, Michael. The Print in Italy 1550–1620. British Museum Press, 2001.
Oberhuber, Konrad, ed. Venetian Master Drawings of the 16th Century. Harvard Art Museums, 1986.
Wood, Christopher S. Forgery, Replica, Fiction: Temporalities of German Renaissance Art. University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession no. 28.85.3 — similar impression under “Boldrini after Titian”