Sleeping Hermaphroditus, Large Neoclassical White Marble Sculpture

Sleeping Hermaphroditus, Large Neoclassical White Marble Sculpture, Roma, early 19th.

The Sleeping Hermaphroditus is a life-size marble sculpture depicting the Greek mythological figure Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite.

The young body is gently reclining on the right side, with the pelvis slightly raised and the left leg bent with the foot raised. The arms are folded under the head, which rests delicately on it. The figure is nude, only partially covered by the cloth on which it lies, which envelops the calves. The torso appears to be twisting in the opposite direction to the body, as if unconsciously sleeping, revealing on one side the face and sinuous buttocks, and on the other the ambivalent nature of the male sex and breasts.

The original model is attributed to the Greek sculptor Polycles: the Hellenistic bronze version from the 2nd century BC is thought to have given rise to numerous ancient examples and modern copies. The first example was discovered in Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome in 1608 and was immediately claimed and acquired by Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli-Borghese, becoming part of his collection.
In 1620, the restoration of the work was entrusted to Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Bernini sculpted a marble mattress on which the figure rests, lending realism and softness, as well as integrating the left foot, transforming the work into a Baroque masterpiece.
The sculpture was subsequently sold, in the early 19th century, by Prince Camillo II Borghese to Napoleon Bonaparte, his brother-in-law, who transferred it to the Louvre. A second sculpture, discovered later and owned by the Borghese Gallery, replaced it in 1807, upon its departure. It was restored in 1774 by the sculptor Andrea Bergondi, who in turn created a bed composed of a mattress and pillow wrapped in a sheet with soft folds.

This ambiguous and mysterious subject seduced travelers, artists, and collectors between the 17th and 19th centuries, embodying the classical ideal that inspired Neoclassicism. During the Grand Tour, cultured travelers longed to possess the wonders of Roman antiquity. The Hermaphrodite was among the most reproduced subjects: rare large marble copies for the wealthiest audiences, and especially smaller copies (bronzes, plaster casts, alabaster), to be brought home as souvenirs of high cultural value.
Ours is one of the largest copies and was created in the early 19th century. Of refined beauty, its execution does not overlook the smallest detail. Made of sculptural white Carrara marble, it rests on a Bardiglio marble mattress.

Measure
W cm 68
D cm 32
H cm 25