Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae: Laocoon 1530 - 1580

Nicolas Beatrizet made this print of Laocoon sometime in the mid-16th century. It's an engraving, meaning that the image was incised into a metal plate, inked, and then pressed onto paper. Consider the labor involved. Beatrizet would have needed to be a skilled metalworker, trained in the use of specialized tools. Think, also, about the division of labor involved in the production of prints at this time. The paper itself would have been made by hand, in a mill. The printing press would have been operated by another artisan. The image itself is, of course, a copy of an ancient sculpture – one that was celebrated for its display of extreme emotion. But Beatrizet's print is not just a reproduction. It is a miniature, a portable object that allowed the image of Laocoon to circulate widely. In this way, the print participates in a much wider economy of making and consumption. It reminds us that even the most seemingly rarefied images are always also products of their time, embedded in a web of social and economic relations.