Sleeping Hermaphroditus: Analysis

Ann Adele Blassingame

Art 185 – Ancient Art History

Dr. Andrew Svedlow

October 29, 2020

 Sleeping Hermaphroditus : Analysis

The Sleeping Hermaphroditus is a beautifully crafted piece with an unknown original

creator. What is known, however, is that the sculptor of the mattress is Gian Lorenzo Bernini,

and he sculpted it in 1620. The parts as a whole measure out to be 169cm (67in) (Marie-

Bénédicte, n.d.). The sculpture itself is a very intricately carved figure of Hermaphroditus, the

Greek god of hermaphrodites. The piece is a heavily realistic rendering of what a human form of

Hermaphroditus would have looked like, and he is sculpted to be in a laying position, peacefully

sleeping in the nude. The body itself is also entangled with a detailed drapery. Being as he is a

hermaphrodite, the figure has male genitalia as well as female breast, and overall, he appears

more feminine in comparison to the portrayal of Greek masculinity.

As stated before, this piece is a physical representation of the Greek god Hermaphroditus.

Hermaphroditus was born to Aphrodite and Hermes, which explains his name itself as it is a

combination of both. In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus was not originally a hermaphrodite,

also known as someone with both male and female genitalia or sexual characteristics. He had

only become one after a nymph fell in love with him and longed to never be separated from him.

Her wish was granted by Zeus, against Hermaphroditus’ wishes, and thus, they were combined

(Geller, 2017).

The Greek’s art was heavily inspired by their mythological figures. Each God was

depicted through sculpting and was honored in different ways. Hermaphroditus was meant to

represent sexuality, just like his parents. Hermaphrodites were often represented in art while

reclining or relaxing in some way (Hermaphroditus, 1997). This piece embodies both of these

traits as the subject is seen sleeping while nude in a gentle, sensual position. The mattress adds to

the feeling of sensuality as it appears soft and supple. Being that he is a combination of both the
male and female sexes, he also strongly represents union and the beauty of it. This is an ideal

which is further seen through marriage and the unity of two beings (Geller, 2017).

Personally, I am especially drawn into the beautiful curvature of the body itself. The way

each dip and wrinkle flows into each different body part shows me that the Greeks understood

and were able to well represent the anatomy of the human body. Also, it continues to amaze me

how well these artists were able to create the soft, pliable look of the skin and mattress despite

them being created from a very hard material. I’m am interested by the positioning the artist

chose to place the body in because it feels very purposeful beyond the fact that he is sleeping.

The way one leg is drawn up closer to his body helps to slightly hide his genitalia until you, as

the viewer, move to a perspective where it is clear that this is not the female we expected it to be.

Also, by laying mostly on the chest, the breasts are also hidden until coming to the same

perspective needed to see the genitalia.

While we are unsure of the exact methods used by the artist to create the piece since they

are unknown, it is easy to see that this was a piece carved from marble, a technique used for a

plethora of other Greek statues. The artist needed to have several different carving tools in order

to represent the different textures seen on the body. I also assume that in order to get the

accuracy of the sculpted body, the original artist needed live models to accurately represent the

anatomy of Hermaphroditus. I think that the artist used multiple models, at least one male and

one female, because technically, a true hermaphrodite doesn’t exist. If one did exist, it is unlikely

that they would have willingly modelled for an artist. During Greek times, Hermaphrodites were

actually shamed and disliked, so the likeliness for one to have the opportunity to model is low.

The mattress, which was commissioned separately by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, was carefully

carved by Bernini which required that he knew the dimensions and position of the carved body.
This would allow for the piece to look like a cohesive unit rather than it obviously being 2

different parts. There are also other versions of this piece which were made through other

methods and materials. Some versions were casted in different types of metals. Others were

carved into materials like black marble.

I think this piece does very well at showing a few of the things that were culturally

significant at the time of the pieces’ creation. To start with, the piece is a physical representation

of a Greek god. Many of the art pieces created in Ancient Greek history were based on figures in

their mythology. Greek mythology and Greek gods helped to represent some of the ideals which

were strongly valued by the Greek people. For example, in this particular piece, sexuality and

unity are represented by Hermaphroditus’ presence. Art is something that is used to often convey

messages, and the Greek people were very good at expressing what they appreciated by using

symbolic figures of ideals (Brenner, 1996).

One of the most noticeable details of the piece is that Hermaphroditus is in the nude.

Nudity was a very prevalent thing in Greek art. For men, nudity represented heroism and

athleticism. In sculpture, the male body was carved to be very muscular and toned; this was due

to the theme of nudity seen in gymnasiums where men would work to achieve the divine look of

what they thought would be the perfection of the gods’ bodies. The nudity of women in Greek art

represented fertility and sexuality. Something else differentiating the female nude from the male

nude is positioning of the bodies. Male nudity is meant to show off a perfectly sculpted frame

which had to be worked for tirelessly. Thus, their sculptures are positioned in a way which are

very freeing and open; for them, the point is to be seen in their beautiful, naked form. Female

nudity is a different deal, as typically, they are seen somewhat covering something up with their

arms or a bit of drapery. This adds to the seductive nature of the piece because the slight
coverage signifies there is something that shouldn’t be seen or publicly displayed underneath.

This piece is an interesting case because, technically, Hermaphrodite is a male. However, his

body is so feminine in appearance, that he is posed in the way a female would be. I think this is

also due to the initial illusion of the piece, which adds to the theatrical part of it. You walk

around the piece to reveal why it is titled the way it is and are met with the combination of male

genitalia and female breasts. This makes the piece more interesting and adds to the

dimensionality of it (Bonfante, 1989).

I chose this object because I wanted to use a piece that explored the sexuality of humans.

I have always been interested in the Greek gods and goddesses, as well as their image imagined

by society. I was interested in why they portrayed their statue portraits as nude. Through this I

was able to learn more about just one of the many Greek gods, which I find exciting. It is

surprising to me that they created a god which represented sexuality in such a different way. This

representation brings questions to me about how homosexuality was treated during Greek times.

I also wanted to do a sculpture because I am a 3D artist. I want to challenge myself to analyze

objects and how well they function in a 3-dimensional space. Looking at this piece, I knew that

the different perspectives for viewing the piece were an important part of the artistic choice that I

could discuss. The way objects function different from different perspectives is an important part

of being a 3d artist, as we need to think in terms of every angle and position in order to create a

piece that works well in all angles. I think this piece did an excellent job of doing this which

made for a great analysis. Overall, this piece is an alluring example of Greek art and Greek

beauty. This piece demonstrates the strong sculptural skills held during the Ancient Greek time

period.
 References

-, P. (2017, March 23). Hermaphroditus - Greek God, Son of Aphrodite. Retrieved October 27, 2020,

from https://mythology.net/greek/greek-gods/hermaphroditus/

Astier Marie-Bénédicte, A. (n.d.). Work Sleeping Hermaphroditos. Retrieved October 27, 2020, from

https://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/sleeping-hermaphroditos

Bonfante, L. (1989). Nudity as a Costume in Classical Art. American Journal of Archaeology, 93(4), 543-

570. doi:10.2307/505328

Brenner, C. (1996). The Inquiring Eye: Classical Mythology in European Art. Retrieved October 27,

2020, from https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/Education/learning-resources/teaching-

packets/pdfs/Classical-Mythology-tp.pdf

Hermaphroditus. (1997, March 03). Retrieved October 27, 2020, from

https://pantheon.org/articles/h/hermaphroditus.html

Sleeping Hermaphroditus: Ancient marble sculpture from the 2nd AD. (2020, February 01). Retrieved

October 27, 2020, from https://borghese.gallery/collection/sculpture/sleeping-

hermaphroditus.html