Sleeping Hermaphroditus (c. 100–150 CE)

What appears to be a peacefully sleeping young woman might surprise you. As you circle the sculpture, the view suddenly shifts — revealing male anatomy alongside the feminine curves. This deliberate surprise is exactly what the ancient sculptor intended. The Sleeping Hermaphrodite is a life-sized Roman marble masterpiece that has captivated viewers for centuries with its blend of beauty, eroticism, and clever illusion. It stands as one of the most intriguing works in the Louvre’s collection of Greek and Roman antiquities.

From Hellenistic Origins to Baroque Fame

This sculpture is a Roman copy created in the first half of the 2nd century AD (roughly 100–150 AD) during the height of the Roman Empire. It faithfully reproduces a lost Hellenistic original from around 150–140 BC, most likely a bronze statue attributed to the Greek sculptor Polycles. The original would have been celebrated even in antiquity — the Roman author Pliny the Elder mentions a famous version in his writings.

The marble we admire today was unearthed in Rome around 1618 near the Baths of Diocletian during the construction of the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria. It quickly entered the prestigious collection of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, one of the great art patrons of the Baroque era. In 1620 the young Gian Lorenzo Bernini — then just 22 years old — was commissioned to create a spectacular marble mattress and pillow for it. The work remained in the Borghese family until 1807, when Prince Camillo Borghese sold much of the collection to his brother-in-law, Napoleon Bonaparte. It arrived at the Louvre around 1809, where it has been a highlight ever since.

Bernini’s 60 Scudi and Swinburne’s Poem

One charming anecdote tells how the young Bernini received only 60 scudi for carving the incredibly lifelike mattress — a modest sum that produced one of the most famous Baroque additions to an ancient sculpture. Visitors in the 17th and 18th centuries were so enchanted that they often reached out to touch the “soft” marble.

The English poet Algernon Charles Swinburne was so moved after seeing the statue in the Louvre that he wrote his sensual poem Hermaphroditus in 1863. Another famous admirer, the art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann, praised it during his visits to Rome. The Spanish court painter Diego Velázquez even ordered bronze copies to be made for King Philip IV. These stories show how the sculpture has inspired artists, writers, and collectors across centuries.

Duality, Desire and Divine Union

In the Hellenistic world, artists became fascinated with androgyny, erotic tension and the blending of opposites. This statue perfectly captures that spirit. It was designed to be viewed in the round: from one angle you see a sensual sleeping woman; from another the male attributes appear, creating a moment of surprise and reflection on gender, beauty and desire.

The figure represents Hermaphroditus, the mythological child of Hermes and Aphrodite. According to the Roman poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses, the beautiful youth was pursued by the nymph Salmacis. When he rejected her, she prayed to the gods that they would never be parted — and their bodies miraculously merged into one being with both male and female characteristics. In ancient culture, real intersex people (called hermaphrodites) were sometimes viewed as prodigies or omens from the gods, occasionally treated with special rituals. Yet in art and mythology they were often idealised as symbols of harmony, fertility and the union of masculine and feminine principles. Statues like this one were popular in Roman villas and gardens precisely because they combined intellectual symbolism with sensual appeal.

Carved in Marble, Designed for Wonder

The sculpture is carved from high-quality ancient marble (likely Greek marble for the figure itself) in the technique known as ronde-bosse — fully three-dimensional sculpture meant to be seen from all sides. The body is highly polished to give the skin a soft, lifelike glow.

Dimensions (reclining pose):  

– Length: 173.5 cm (68.3 inches)  

– Width: 90.5 cm (35.6 inches)  

– Height: 46.5 cm (18.3 inches)

Bernini’s added mattress and pillow are made of Carrara marble and feature realistic tufting, folds and indentations that make the stone appear to yield under the figure’s weight — a brilliant Baroque illusion. The hair is styled with ribbons and a characteristic bun (crobylos), and a light drapery wraps around the arms and legs.

From Roman Soil to the World’s Greatest Museums

Discovered in Rome in the early 17th century, the statue entered the famous Borghese collection. After Napoleon’s acquisition in 1807 it became part of the French national collections and has belonged to the Louvre’s Department of Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities ever since. Today it is recognised as one of the finest surviving examples of its type, with a nearly identical version still in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.

Restored to Perfection

The sculpture is in good overall condition but is not entirely original. Missing fingers on the left hand, the tip of the thumb and index finger on the right hand, the tip of the nose, the left foot and part of the right foot were restored in marble by the sculptor David Larique in 1620. The drapery near the stomach and the left hand have been reattached. Bernini’s mattress and pillow were added at the same time, and the figure was mounted on them. A small chip remains on the right cheek. 
The Sleeping Hermaphrodite continues to reward careful looking. Walk slowly around it, notice how the light plays on the polished marble, and let the ancient surprise work its magic — just as it has for visitors for nearly two thousand years.