Hermes Ludovisi

The Ludovisi Hermes (Altemps)

The Hermes Ludovisi, ^[1] also formerly known as Mercurio Oratore ("Mercury the Orator"), ^[2] is a Hellenistic sculpture of the god Hermes possibly in his form of Hermes Psychopompus.

Its model is among the earliest sculptural representations of Hermes as beardless and youthful. ^[3]

Description

It is made of Italic marble and is a somewhat slick ^[4] 1st-century AD Roman copy after an inferred bronze original of the 5th century BC which is traditionally attributed to the young Phidias, ca 440 BC, ^[5] or alternatively by Myron. ^[6]

It was acquired by Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi for the Ludovisi collection and is now on show at the Palazzo Altemps (National Museum in Rome).

Hermes Ludovisi type

The unrestored Anzio Hermes of Ludovisi type

Greek original was quite popular, according to the number of copies. Although the Ludovisi statue has lent its name to this type, it is not an exact reproduction of the significant bronze work. Reconstruction of the original statue, derived from a comparison of all existing copies, reveals that it differs from the Ludovisi statue in at least three key aspects: hair style, right hand and the position and form of the petasos. ^[7]

A variant on a somewhat reduced scale, found in Anzio, is conserved in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme. As in other free Roman-era copies, there are variations in the shaping of the soft-brimmed petasos Hermes wears and the angle of the kerykeion in his left hand.

Notes

1. Illustrated in M. Bieber, Ancient Copies, 1971, p. 41 fig.78; W. Fuchs, Die Skulptur der Griechen, 1969, fig. 73; G. Lippold, Die Griechische Plastik: Handbuch der Archäologie, 1950, VI. pt. 3.1, p. 179, pl. 63.2; Helbig, Führer durch die öffentlichen Sammlungen klassischer Altertümer in Rom 4th ed., 1963-72, no. 2326.
2. The rhetorically gesturing right arm of the Ludovisi sculpture, however, is a restoration.
3. "This is, I believe, the earliest representation of Hermes as youthful and beardless" (C. K. Jenkins, "The Reinstatement of Myron-II" The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs50 No. 289 (April 1927:189-196) p. 190).
4. "Mechanical", according to Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway, reviewing Enrico Paribeni, Museo Nazionale Romano: Sculture Greche del V secolo: originali e reliche, 1953, in American Journal of Archaeology59.1 (January 1955:74-75)
5. A suggestion first put forward by Botho Graef, "Athenakopf in Neapel", in Carl Robert, ed., Aus der anomia: archaeologische beitraege, 1890, p. 69.
6. E.g. by Amelung.
7. https://academic.oup.com/bics/article/56/Supplement_105_Part_1/489/5599798?searchresult=1

Bibliography

• Arslan, E. A. (1966) Una Replica a Genova dell'Hermes tipo Ludovisi. BdA 51, 133--48
• Bol, P. C. (1989) Zum Petasos des Hermes Ludovisi. Festschrift fiir Jale Inan, edited by Basgelen, N., 223-27. Istanbul: Arkeoloji Ve Sanat Yayinlari.
• Graziu, V. (1992) Una Testa dell' Hermes tipo Ludovisi nella Galleria degli Uffizi. ArchCI XLIV, 297-307.
• Karouzou, S. (1961) Hermes Psychopompos. AM76, 91-106.
• Montagu, J. (1985) Alessandro Algardi, 11-12. New Haven/London: Yale University Press.
• Palma, B. (1983) Hermes Ludovisi. Catalogue no. 75 in Palma, B. & De Lachenal, L. (1983) 1 marmi Ludovisi nel museo nazionale romano. Museo nazionale romano. Le sculture, volume I, 5, edited by Giuliano, A. Rome: De Luca.
• Picozzi, M. G. (1990) Statua di Hermes (tipo Ludovisi) con testa giovanile antica non pertinente. Catalogue no. 114, 210-13, in Catalogo della Galleria Colonna in Roma. Sculture, by Carinci, F., Keutner, H., Musso, L., and Picozzi, M. G. Rome: Bramante.