Michelangelo's Manchester Madonna, Madonna of Bruges and the Sleeping Hermaphroditus

This gorgeous little motif of the Christ child mischievously stepping on the drapery of his mother’s robe is the gentle detail that makes Michelangelo’s works so special. It is beautifully depicted in his early, unfinished painting - the Manchester Madonna and then later repeated in marble, in his famous Madonna of Bruges. It seems likely that Michelangelo borrowed this motif from the ancient marble of the Sleeping Hermaphroditus, whose graceful foot is similarly pulling on the fabric of its bedsheets.

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The only problem with this theory is that the most famous version of the Hermaphroditus sculpture which currently resides in the Louvre, was found in 1608, 44 years after Michelangelo’s death.

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The beautiful, androgynous creature is believed to be one of many Roman copies of the ancient bronze original, created by the Greek sculptor Polykles. It is, therefore, entirely possible that there were other copies of it present in Michelangelo’s day. For instance, Lorenzo Ghiberti in his book Commentarii mentions a recently unearthed draped antique sculpture of a hermaphrodite which can be dated to between 1444 and 1455. The location of that copy is currently unknown. But could Michelangelo have seen a version of the Sleeping Hermaphroditus and become inspired by this elegant gesture of the foot pulling on fabric? What do you think?

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It so happens that Michelangelo died #onthisday, 18th of February, 1564 in Rome.

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Images:

Michelangelo, Manchester Madonna, circa 1497, tempera on panel, National Gallery, London.

Michelangelo, Madonna of Bruges, circa 1501-1504, marble, Church of Our Lady, Bruges.

Sleeping Hermaphroditus, Roman copy of a Hellenistic bronze original, found in 1608, Greek marble, The Louvre, Paris.