A PAIR OF WHITE MARBLE BUSTS OF A MALE AND FEMALE FAUN

The two busts offered are part of a tradition of highly expressive, mythological or allegorical busts made in Venice in the late 17th and early 18th century in which a clear differentiation is made between smooth polished skin and drapery, and the more rough rendering of the hair and beard. The present busts are comparable in style to that of a bust of a philosopher by the Hungarian-born sculptor Michele Fabris (c. 1644-1684), one of the foremost sculptors in Venice of his time, that is housed in the Hotel Danieli in Palazzo Dandolo, Venice (S. Guerriero, Estratto da Saggi E Memorie di storia dell'arte, Venice, 2009, p. 245). The curvaceous treatment of the drapery and drilling in the hair, along with the pronounced chins and deeply set eyes on the present busts are all reminiscent of Fabris' work.