A Formal Analysis of the Sleeping Hermaphrodite

The artist and date of the famous work entitled Sleeping Hermaphrodite are both unknown. The recent public knows this piece as copies of the original done during the Hellenistic Period of Ancient Greece. By chronological

clockwork, the piece seems to have been sculpted around 120-130 BC. However, the work can also be dated by its stylistic approach. Evidence shows that the piece contains all the elements of a Hellenistic work of this particular time. For example, the piece was created during a time when the Greeks adopted the idea of Humanism, or the idea that man is the measure of all things and is separate from the rest of nature. Another popular element of Ancient Greek art of this time was Idealism, or the representation of the “ideal” human, perfect in every way. So sculptures and paintings of humans were ideal, with magnificent complexions and lean bodies. This element of Idealism, stemming from the Archaic period led into the later Hellenistic period and its initiative of Realism, or the form of a human true to their natural appearance including age and imperfections. This was a monumental idea for the Greeks, who saw themselves as a superior race.

they showed the human realistically, with wrinkles and aged faces and bodies, in decrepit positions. The Hellenistic period also fell in a time when the woman figure was being discovered and revealed in art. For years figures were covered with clothing and leaves until about the 1st century BC when women were fully exposed. The Sleeping Hermaphrodite is a direct example of these Hellenistic ideas. The figure contains many examples of Idealism, and although she is lying on her stomach, appears to be naked yet exposing her true Realism, the sexual anatomy of a male.

The treatment of the form is also an important aspect of a work of art. This model is quite three-dimensional, and the artist has paid great attention to the overlapping of the cloth onto the figures body, allowing it to protrude the body and contour it’s shape. This effect adds to the individual’s realism, yet as explained earlier, the being is quite idealized with perfectly smooth skin, a perfect complexion, lovely features on his/her face and perfectly carved locks of hair. The form is also portrayed in a very naturalistic position and setting with all signs presenting the person sleeping or resting. The lighting of the piece is also pertinent to the treatment of the form. The artist has done a lovely job at carving the forms features so that when the sculpture in lit, it’s face and legs are dramatically lit or shaded. For example, the modeling of the cloth around the figure is done in such a way that when the piece has light on it, the cloth adds to the figure’s thre!

The composition of the Sleeping Hermaphrodite is perhaps one of the most important aspects. Looking at the copy from the National Museum in Rome, the viewer can tell that

This is exactly so!, when approached from the front, the viewer is in contact with the figures face , back and butt. From this angle, the being appears indefinitely to be an idealized

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