François Milhomme, a Valenciennes sculptor, was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1801 and went to stay in Rome, at the Villa Medici. He took advantage of his trip to observe the most beautiful ancient sculptures. In particular, he discovered the Borghese collection, before it was purchased by Napoleon I and sent to the Louvre in Paris. One of the flagship pieces of this collection is the "Sleeping Hermaphroditus", an ancient sculpture whose creator is unknown, and of which Milhomme decided to make a copy.
The character is represented on their stomach, stretched on out a mattress that hugs their feminine forms. The body is languid, with only the foot raised and outstretched, which seems to suggest that the figure is dreaming. There is just one surprising detail in this perfect vision of beauty; the figure has male genitals!
This is, in fact, Hermaphroditus, the son of the Greek gods Hermes and Aphrodite. One day, the beautiful young man rebuffed the advances of the nymph Salmacis. The latter, despairing, implored the gods to forever unite her with Hermaphroditus. Her wish was granted, as their two bodies were made one – half man, half woman!
Detail: The original "Sleeping Hermaphroditus" sculpture was rediscovered in Rome in 1608. Its owner, the Cardinal Borghese, asked the sculptor Le Bernin to complete the sculpture by adding a comfortable mattress for Hermaphroditus. Today, the work is housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
François Milhomme, a Valenciennes sculptor, was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1801 and went to stay in Rome, at the Villa Medici. He took advantage of his trip to observe the most beautiful ancient sculptures. In particular, he discovered the Borghese collection, before it was purchased by Napoleon I and sent to the Louvre in Paris. One of the flagship pieces of this collection is the "Sleeping Hermaphroditus", an ancient sculpture whose creator is unknown, and of which Milhomme decided to make a copy.
The character is represented on their stomach, stretched on out a mattress that hugs their feminine forms. The body is languid, with only the foot raised and outstretched, which seems to suggest that the figure is dreaming. There is just one surprising detail in this perfect vision of beauty; the figure has male genitals!
This is, in fact, Hermaphroditus, the son of the Greek gods Hermes and Aphrodite. One day, the beautiful young man rebuffed the advances of the nymph Salmacis. The latter, despairing, implored the gods to forever unite her with Hermaphroditus. Her wish was granted, as their two bodies were made one – half man, half woman!
Detail: The original "Sleeping Hermaphroditus" sculpture was rediscovered in Rome in 1608. Its owner, the Cardinal Borghese, asked the sculptor Le Bernin to complete the sculpture by adding a comfortable mattress for Hermaphroditus. Today, the work is housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
