I gotta go back and read Lessing again. The Laocoon group always struck me as wildly emotional, a great example of late Hellenistic. I've seen it, too, and was shocked that its a rather small sculpture in actuality whereas it always looks so big in photos. There has been an ongoing debate as to the real configuation of the original, since it was found with crucial pieces missing. Maybe that debate is now resolved but I do recall seeing models of at least three plausible arrangements of the original fragments.
Delacroix was really engaged in trying to realize the moment of heightened emotion by implication more than expression. He wanted to take it to the point where the actual full-blast emotion would occur in the viewer (who vicariously imagines the next moment suggested by his painting) but not depicted in the actual painting. Although his Lion Hunt pictures seem to go the full way. wc ________________________________ From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, December 7, 2013 6:56 PM Subject: Re: comment invited Lessing is quoted as saying that the reason for the Laocoon's relatively peaceful expression was that any violence of expression would have been unaesthetic,which is some jump to a conclusion. -----Original Message----- From: William Conger <[email protected]> To: aesthetics-l <[email protected]> Sent: Sat, Dec 7, 2013 7:48 pm Subject: Re: comment invited I always try to make something beautiful and often do, for me. I do think it's impossible to make something beautiful on demand. So, no guarantees. wc ________________________________ From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, December 7, 2013 6:35 PM Subject: Re: comment invited Conger wrote: But in art it's often presumed that artworks, of whatever medium, are made > as > well as they can be made, serving, presumably some higher, "aesthetic" > goal or > purpose. By 'made' I mean also 'express'. Does aesthetic experience > require a notion of the best, of the best, aiming at the best, of the > highest > order, as well is it can be, etc., even if no one knows beforehand what > might > exemplify the best as a state of mind? It has often been said that if you try to make "something Beautiful" you won't.
