In the context of Laocoön (El Greco), discuss the Foreground of the Description.
El Greco's version of the classical subject captures the last dying struggle of Laocoön and his sons. Laocoön, the central figure of the painting, lies down in agony on the undulating, dark rocks of the foreground.  Sprawled against the foreshortened, dead body of one of his sons, Laocoön clings to life as a serpent bites his head. On the left, Laocoön's standing son contorts in pain, writhing as a serpent swoops in towards his abdomen. Flanking the scene on the right are Apollo and Artemis, who watch the grisly scene unfold. An unfinished figure consisting only of a head and leg also appears on the right.
El Greco distorted the rules of proportion by portraying the mythological characters as elongated, contorted figures. Laocoön sprawls in a strange position, unnaturally stretching out his leg in agony toward the arched, straining body of his son.  The distorted figures, with their murky yellow and green coloration, infuse the scene with a sense of suffering and turmoil. The dark, sinister rocks of the foreground add to the intense emotional atmosphere.
El Greco Laocoön left Artemis Apollo