CIRCLE OF GIUSTO LE COURT (1627-1679), LATE 17TH CENTURY

Iconographically, these two marble figures are difficult to decipher. The infant holding the serpents may represent Hercules, who crushed the serpents sent by Juno to kill him in his sleep. The other figure might then represent Iphicles, Hercules' half twin, although he is rarely depicted, and there is no mention in his history which would make sense of the cup of water included here. Alternatively, the two figures may represent one half of a series of the Four Elements, with the figure holding the serpents representing Earth, and the second figure representing Water.
Stylistically, they can be related to the work of Giusto Le Court, who worked principally in Venice in the third quarter of the 17th century. The chubby proportions - including the folds of skin at the ankles - are reminiscent of other marbles by Le Court including his Winter in the Ca' Rezzonico, or the figure of Christ in his masterpiece, the High Altar of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice (Bacchi, op. cit, figs. 432 and 423).