Hermes of the Museo Pio-Clementino in The Palace of Versailles, France

myminifactory

The Belvedere Antinous, a prized possession of the Vatican collections in Rome, has long been admired for its prominent placement in the Cortile del Belvedere. Now known as inventory number 907 in the Museo Pio-Clementino, this restored cast of an original sculpture by an unknown artist is on permanent display at the Gardens of the Palace of Versailles in France. Its idealized face was once believed to be that of Antinous, Emperor Hadrian's beloved companion, but it actually represents a young man with a distinctive cloak and relaxed stance typical of Hermes sculptures. Today, art historians consider this statue to be a Hadrianic copy (early second century CE) of a bronze by Praxiteles or one of his school. At life size, the statue depicts a nude young man with a chlamys on his shoulder and left forearm, a variant of the Andros type characterized by a serpent twined round a tree-support. This direct influence from the Hermes and the Infant Dionysus of Praxiteles is unmistakable. The sculpture was purchased for Pope Paul III in 1543 for a thousand ducats paid to Nicolaus de Palis, who had property near Castel Sant'Angelo where the statue likely originated. The Belvedere Antinous immediately gained fame as the Antinous Admirandus and was mentioned in all accounts of Rome's antiquities, engraved in art repertories, and universally admired. Casts of the statue can be found in collections such as those of Charles I of England, Oliver Cromwell, Louis XIV of France, Peter the Great, and art academies like Milan and Berlin. Poussin saw it as an aesthetic canon of ideal proportions, while Gérard Audran included it in his collection of engravings representing the Proportions of the human body measured from the most beautiful statues of antiquity. In Winckelmann's time, the statue was identified as a Meleager, but Ennio Quirino Visconti finally recognized it as Hermes in his catalogue of the Museo Pio-Clementino (1818-1822). This object is part of Scan The World, a non-profit initiative to create a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures and artworks for public access.