This is a stone statue.
It looks like a person sleeping. It was made a long time ago. The stone is white and smooth. It is in a big museum in France. Do you like art?
This is a white stone statue.
It shows a person sleeping. It was made in Rome a long time ago.
A man named Bernini made a stone bed for it. He finished the bed in 1620. The statue was found in the ground in 1618.
Later, the statue went to France. It is in a big museum in Paris now. People can go see it there.
Many artists liked this work. Some made small versions in bronze. Others made copies out of black stone.
It is a very famous piece of art.
Many people travel to see it.
The Sleeping Hermaphroditus is a famous marble statue.
It shows a person sleeping on a bed. This work was made in ancient Rome. It is likely a copy of a bronze statue. That original was made by a man named Polycles.
People found the statue in Rome in 1618. It was under the ground near a church. A man named Scipione Borghese bought it. He put it in his own collection. He even paid an artist named Bernini to make a marble mattress. Bernini finished the bed in 1620.
Later, the statue moved to France. It was sold during a time of war. Now, it sits in the Louvre museum in Paris.
Many other artists have been inspired by it. Some made small versions out of ivory or bronze. One artist named Swinburne even wrote a poem about it. A modern artist made a new copy in black marble. This shows how much people still love the old work.
The Sleeping Hermaphroditus is a famous piece of ancient art.
It is a life-size marble sculpture. The statue shows a person resting in sleep. This work is also called the Borghese Hermaphrodite. It is a very important example of Roman sculpture. Many people find the work beautiful and interesting. It has inspired artists for hundreds of years.
The statue rests on a special marble mattress. An artist named Gian Lorenzo Bernini made this bed. He finished the mattress in the year 1620. Bernini was a student of Cardinal Scipione Borghese. The Cardinal paid him sixty scudi for his work. The mattress even has small buttons on it. This helps the statue look like it is truly resting.
This marble statue was found in Rome in 1618. It was discovered near the Baths of Diocletian. It was likely found while digging near a church. The sculpture was part of the Borghese Collection for a long time. In 1807, Prince Camillo Borghese sold it to France. He needed money because of heavy French taxes.
The statue moved to the Louvre museum in 1809.
Experts believe this marble is a Roman copy. It likely copies an older bronze statue. A sculptor named Polycles may have made that original. He worked around 155 BC. We know about the bronze version because of a writer named Pliny. Other copies of this statue exist in many places. You can see them in Florence and in St Petersburg. Some are even in the Vatican Museums.
Many artists have used this statue for ideas. A painter named Velázquez used it to help paint the Rokeby Venus. Other artists made small versions in ivory or bronze. Giovanni Francesco Susini made a bronze version in 1639. A poet named Algernon Charles Swinburne wrote a poem about it in 1863. Even in 2010, an artist named Barry X Ball made a new copy. He used black marble to create a modern version.
The Sleeping Hermaphroditus is a famous life-size marble sculpture from ancient Rome.
It depicts a figure resting in a deep sleep. The work is also known as the Borghese Hermaphrodite. This subject was very popular during the Hellenistic period and in ancient Rome. The sculpture's form draws from various artistic traditions. It uses styles seen in portrayals of Venus and female nudes. It also uses feminized styles from Hellenistic depictions of Dionysus. Because this subject was so widely repeated, many versions have survived through history.
The sculpture is known for its unique presentation. It rests upon a marble mattress that was added much later. The Italian artist Gian Lorenzo Bernini completed this mattress in 1620. Bernini was a protégé of Cardinal Scipione Borghese. The Cardinal paid Bernini sixty scudi to create the buttoned mattress. This addition helps the viewer see the figure as truly resting. It is believed that Scipione Borghese dedicated an entire room in the Villa Borghese to display the work.
Archaeologists and historians have traced the origins of this specific marble piece. It is considered a good early Imperial Roman copy. It likely copies an older bronze original. That original was likely made by a sculptor named Polycles. Polycles worked around 155 BC. We know of the existence of the bronze original because of the writer Pliny. Pliny mentioned the work in his text, Natural History.
The discovery of the statue occurred in 1618 in Rome. It was unearthed in the grounds of Santa Maria della Vittoria. This location was near the Baths of Diocletian and the ancient Gardens of Sallust. The discovery likely happened during the excavation of a church foundation. It might have also been found while planting espaliers nearby. After its discovery, the sculpture became a centerpiece of the Borghese Collection.
The statue's journey to its current home involved significant political and financial changes. While Rome was part of Napoleon's First French Empire, France purchased various artworks. In 1807, Prince Camillo Borghese sold the sculpture to France. Prince Camillo was married to Pauline Bonaparte. He was under heavy financial strain due to high taxation imposed by the French. Consequently, the sculpture was transferred to the Louvre museum in 1809.
It remains on display in Paris today.
Many other ancient versions of this figure exist in museums around the world. In 1781, a second-century copy was found. This copy now sits in the Galleria Borghese. In 1880, a third Roman marble variant was discovered. It is now located at the Museo Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme in the National Museum of Rome. You can also find additional ancient copies in Florence at the Uffizi. Other versions are held in the Vatican Museums and the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.
The Sleeping Hermaphroditus has inspired countless artists across many centuries. In 1652, Matteo Bonuccelli made a full-size bronze version. This was ordered by Diego Velázquez for Philip IV of Spain. This work is now in the Prado Museum. The sculpture also influenced Velázquez's famous painting, the Rokeby Venus. Around 1640, John Evelyn purchased a small ivory version by François Duquesnoy. In 1639, Giovanni Francesco Susini created a small bronze copy. One of Susini's casts is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Even in modern times, the sculpture continues to be a source of creativity. The poet Algernon Charles Swinburne wrote a poem titled "Hermaphroditus" in 1863. His work was inspired by seeing the statue at the Louvre. In 2010, the artist Barry X Ball created a new life-size copy. He used Belgian black marble on a Carrara marble base. This modern version sold at Christie's in New York in 2016 for $545,000.
Where will your curiosity go next?
🖼️ Images & Media (2)
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
🪜 Step back
Simpler topics to build understanding
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.