Sleeping Hermaphroditus
Ancient Roman marble of Hermaphroditus on a Bernini mattress.
The Sleeping Hermaphroditus, sometimes called the Borghese Hermaphrodite, is a life-size Roman marble sculpture of Hermaphroditus. It lies on a marble mattress that Gian Lorenzo Bernini carved in 1620. The figure’s pose and features borrow from ancient images of Venus and other female nudes, as well as from Hellenistic depictions of a feminized Dionysus. The subject was popular in the Hellenistic period and in ancient Rome; many versions survive.
Workers digging at Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome uncovered the sculpture in 1618. It entered the Borghese Collection, and Cardinal Scipione Borghese paid Bernini sixty scudi to create the buttoned mattress. The sculpture likely had its own room in the Villa Borghese. At the end of the 18th century, Prince Camillo Borghese sold it to France—he was under financial pressure from French taxes and was married to Napoleon’s sister, Pauline Bonaparte. The piece was moved to the Louvre in 1809, where it remains.
Scholars consider the Louvre sculpture a good early Imperial Roman copy of a bronze original by the younger of two Hellenistic sculptors named Polycles, who worked around 155 BC. Pliny the Elder mentions that bronze original in his *Natural History*.
Other ancient copies exist. A second-century version found in 1781 now sits in the Galleria Borghese, replacing the original. A third Roman marble variant, discovered in 1880, is at the Museo Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme in Rome. Further copies are held by the Uffizi in Florence, the Vatican Museums, and the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Many modern copies have been made since the Renaissance. In 1652, Matteo Bonuccelli cast a full-size bronze version for Philip IV of Spain, commissioned by Diego Velázquez; it is now at the Prado Museum. Velázquez’s painting *The Rokeby Venus* was clearly influenced by the sculpture. Around 1640, John Evelyn bought a reduced-scale ivory copy by François Duquesnoy in Rome. Giovanni Francesco Susini made a small bronze version in 1639—one cast is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—and later created two more bronze variations; a cast of one belonged to Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé until it sold in 2009. The poet Algernon Charles Swinburne wrote a poem titled “Hermaphroditus” after seeing the work at the Louvre in March 1863; it appeared in his 1866 collection *Poems and Ballads*. In 2010, Barry X Ball produced a life-siz
- Type
- Ancient Roman marble sculpture
- Subject
- Hermaphroditus
- Date of discovery
- 1618
- Current location
- Louvre, Paris
- Artist of mattress
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini
- Original medium
- Bronze (lost)
Lore & Background
The sculpture was discovered in 1618, unearthed in the grounds of Santa Maria della Vittoria, near the Baths of Diocletian and within the bounds of the ancient Gardens of Sallust. The discovery was likely made during the excavation of the church's foundation or while planting espaliers nearby. It was presented to Cardinal Scipione Borghese, who included the work in the Borghese Collection and commissioned the mattress. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Scipione's protégé, was paid sixty scudi for making the buttoned mattress. It is likely that Scipione dedicated an entire room of the Villa Borghese to the sculpture.
Reader's Guide
The Sleeping Hermaphroditus has been described as a good early Imperial Roman copy of a bronze original by the later of the two Hellenistic sculptors named Polycles (working c. 155 BC); the original bronze was mentioned in Pliny's Natural History. This subject was widely repeated during the Hellenistic period and in ancient Rome, given the number of versions that have survived. The sculpture was among the various artworks purchased by France while Rome was part of Napoleon's First French Empire. It was sold by Prince Camillo Borghese in 1807, who was married to Pauline Bonaparte, and was under significant financial strain due to the heavy taxation imposed by the French. In 1809, the sculpture was transferred to the Louvre where it is currently on display. Several copies have been produced since the Renaissance, including a full-size bronze version ordered by Diego Velázquez for Philip IV of Spain, made by Matteo Bonuccelli in 1652, now at the Prado Museum. The sculpture clearly influenced Velázquez's painting of the Rokeby Venus. In 1863, Algernon Charles Swinburne wrote a poem titled 'Hermaphroditus' inspired by seeing the work at the Louvre.
Did You Know?
- The sculpture was discovered in 1618 at Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome.
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini was paid sixty scudi for making the marble mattress.
- A second-century copy found in 1781 now stands in the Galleria Borghese.
- Algernon Charles Swinburne wrote a poem inspired by the sculpture in 1863.
More in Sculptures 1-24
Elsewhere in the Sculptures universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record