The Infant Hercules Strangling the Serpents

late 15th - early 16th century

Moderno

Associated Names
Moderno

Artist, Veronese, 1467 - 1528

The sculpture depicts a young nude child standing amidst several serpents. The child is engaging with the snakes, holding them in both hands. The piece is made of a dark metallic material, likely bronze, with brownish and aged golden hues. The rectangular plaque has a slightly worn and antiqued texture. The intricate details of the child’s curly hair, facial features, and the coiling of the serpents are prominently displayed, giving it a dynamic appearance.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze//Dark brown patina (rubbed on exposed surf aces)

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall: 8.98 × 7.83 cm (3 9/16 × 3 1/16 in.)
    gross weight: 117.02 gr (0.258 lb.)

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.314

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his estate; purchased 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); purchased 1945 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1957 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1978

  • Antiquity in the Renaissance, Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1978, no. 92.

Bibliography

1931

  • Ricci, Seymour de. The Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Reliefs and Plaquettes. Oxford, 1931. vol.II, 190.

1965

  • Pope-Hennessy, John W. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Reliefs, Plaquettes, Statuettes, Utensils and Mortars. London, 1965: no. 177.

2010

  • Lewis, Douglas. "The Villa Giustinian at Roncade: Tullio Lombardo or Fra Giocondo? The evidence of a newly recognized marble banqueting table of c. 1515 for the atrium." Annali di architettura 22 (2010): 45-62, fig. 15.

2011

  • Rossi, Francesco. La collezione Mario Scaglia: placchette. 3 vols. Bergamo, 2011: 1:162, under Prototipo, M.3, as by the Master of the Labors of Hercules.

Wikidata ID

Q63815085

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