"Ut pictura poesis" : Vergil's Laocoön and beyond

Abstract

The liberal arts are not contained by specific boundaries, and with this assertion the artist is free to extract material from other idioms and reap inspirations from literary antecedents outside his immediate domain. Such is the basis for this research in Vergil's poetic style and the visual images emerging from his verses. Appropriating Horace's humanistic doctrine, "ut pictura poesis", which suggests an association between poetry and the visual arts, this article renders a survey of selected works inspired by Vergil's Laocoon narrative including those models derivative of the Vatican antique. There ensues an exegesis of this passage addressing the pictorial imagery of the "Aeneid", after which the theme, "exemplum doloris", culminates in a visual triptych format. All three panels reflect the verbal and structural components of the poet's text, and attempt collectively to capture Vergil's cinematic design in a sequence of events programmatically unfolding to a deterministic conclusion. It is the author's thesis that it is possible to perpetuate the tradition of "Ars pictoria" through the genre of abstract expressionism.