Unknown
Roman
Lansdowne Hermes, 2nd c. CE, Hadrianic Era Roman copy after 4th c. BCE Greek original by Lysippos
white Parian marble
86 1/4 x 40 x 13 3/8 in.
SBMA, Gift of Wright Ludington
1984.34.1
RESEARCH PAPER
Majestic Hermes commands Ludington Court at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The messenger god’s relaxed contraposto position is stabilized by the sculptor’s utilization of a palm tree stump. His weight is supported on his right leg; his left leg is bent, with the heel raised. The modern right arm is akimbo, placed against the hip with fingers spread. Over the left arm is the god’s mantle; the right hand probably held a caduceus-like staff (with two entwined snakes). Hermes is the most frequently represented Olympian god in art.
Hermes in Myth
Known as the herald of the gods, Hermes was regarded as the most clever, and useful, of the twelve great Olympians. His mother, a nymph named Maia, was impregnated by Zeus while the other gods slept. When dawn broke, Hermes was born. Exhausted, Maia snoozed while the infant Hermes quickly earned his reputation as a trickster. First, he ran off to Thessaly where he stole cattle belonging to his brother Apollo. He herded them into a cave then covered up their tracks. Before returning to his mother he caught a tortoise and ripped out its entrails. Using intestines from one of the stolen cattle, he strung the tortoise shell into the prototype of the first lyre. Upon reaching the cave, he squirmed back into his swaddling bands then slept peacefully in his mother’s arms.
Suddenly Apollo arrived at the cave to announce the theft of his cattle to the astonished Maia; he demanded the return of his property. Maia replied that it couldn’t have been Hermes because he was sleeping the entire time. But Zeus, who had seen the entire episode, affirmed Apollo’s accusation. As the argument continued, the infant Hermes awoke and began to strum the lyre. The sweet sounds so charmed Apollo that he agreed to forget the whole episode if he could have that instrument – the one which became permanently associated with the master musician. It is easy to see why Hermes was regarded as the protector of thieves. Perhaps ironically, he is also the patron of business and oratory.
His attributes include the caduceus (two snakes entwined around a staff in a figure eight pattern, topped by a pair of wings – similar to, but not identical, with the medical staff of Aesculapius.) Often he wears wings on his cap and sandals.
Hermes figures prominently in Homer’s Odyssey, when he was sent by Zeus to rescue Odysseus from the nymph Calypso, then again from the witch Circe – who had turned some members of Osysseus’ crew into swine. Hermes arrived with a magic herb to protect Odysseus from her spell.
Hermes was also instrumental in Perseus’ conquest of Medusa. He joined several gods in loaning gear to Perseus; Perseus is often portrayed wearing Hermes’ sword, cap and sandals. Hermes advised Perseus about how to use Athena’s shiny shield as a mirror when he killed Medusa, thus avoiding looking her in the face and being turned to stone. Because Hermes was dispatched to bring Persephone out of the underworld, he is also associated with conducting souls to Hades.
Hermes’ service as the messenger god was indispensable to the plots of many stories. When the Olympian gods needed to get information to someone quickly Hermes was sent. As such, he eventually became the symbol communication; at one time his image adorned telephone books. Even today, post offices and mail trucks in Greece all bear his symbol.
Lysippos
More is known of the life of Lysippos than of most Fourth Century BCE artists. He claimed to have been self-taught, that nature was his only model yet he acknowledged his admiration for Praxitiles, who predated him slightly. Praxitiles is generally credited with elongating the proportions of Greek representation; the basic body unit became eight heads high – one to one-and-a-half higher than the Polykleitos model as represented by his spearbearer (450-440 BCE). Praxitiles was also credited with furthering the development of the controposto stance and introduction of nude female figures.
In relation to the SBMA Hermes, it is interesting to look at Praxitiles’ Hermes [detail image to the right] which was found in the ruins of Olympia (probably an early Greek copy of a 4th century BCE original). In this representation, Hermes has rescued the infant Dionysos and is teasing him, perhaps with a shiny object or a bunch of grapes. Praxitiles’ Hermes shares the grace of the SBMA Hermes, its relaxed attitude, and its fine workmanship.
Perhaps the most famous of Lysippos’ sculptures is “The Scraper,” which depicts a male athlete. However, he is not engaged in an athletic event. Rather, he is scraping his skin, removing sweat and dirt after exertion. His dreamy, almost distracted gaze, is similar to that of the Hermes at SBMA.
Most of Lysippos’ representations of Alexander the Great are lost. However, a fragment found at Pergamon is probably an ancient copy. It is not known whether his representation of Alexander the Great was a realistic portrait, or an idealized depiction.
Conservation
As with most ancient marbles, the Lansdowne Hermes has suffered some damage. In the Santa Barbara Museum of Art catalogue, Classical Art – Sculpture, Mario A. Del Chiaro wrote, “The head has not been broken away from the body. The right arm below the elbow including the right hand, the right leg from mid-thigh to ankle, the left foot, tip of nose, and nostrils are all modern. Breakages are mended at the upper right arm, left elbow, left knee, and calf. The original left hand is without its thumb, index, and middle fingers.”
From April of 1985 through 1988 conservation was performed here at SBMA. A grant enabled Paul Rabin, through the auspices of the Getty Museum, to perform the work. It was accomplished in the room that is now called Emmons Gallery. The public was able to view work in progress through a glass in the gallery door. The statue was first disassembled, using former breakage locations. Iron pins that had been inserted some time in the 19th Century were removed because they were rusting, thus staining the marble. Careful cleaning was accomplished; stainless steel pins were substituted. Very careful records were kept of all solvents and adhesives for the reference of future conservators. A great deal of conservation was performed at the same time on a Roman copy of an Aphrodite in the museum’s possession.
Provenance
Wright Ludington donated the Hermes to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in 1984. However, it had been on view at the museum for several years prior as a “promised gift.” Ludington acquired it in 1930 through a dealer, Joseph Brummer of New York, who purchased it – presumably for Ludington - from the Marquess of Lansdowne, figuring as #20 in the Landsdowne sale. Bidding was reported as “not very keen and the buyers were quite limited.” The Hermes had been in the Lansdowne collection since the 18th Century. William (Fitzmaurice) Petty the second Earl of Shelburne was created the Marquis of Landsdowne in 1784. He had acquired the statue in 1777 from Gavin Hamilton, a Scottish painter/archeologist who unearthed it near the site of Hadrian’s Villa. At about the same time, Petty acquired the work known as the Lansdowne Hercules, now in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. When in the possession of the family, Landsdowne items were displayed in a great room in London designed by Robert Adams. The room was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1931, disassembled and moved to New York.
Notes
Author’s observation, 1985-88.
The Art News, New York, March 22, 1930, p. 3.)
The Dictionary of Art, Jane Turner, ed. New York: Groves Dictionaries, 1998.
Prepared for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Docent Council by Virginia Cornell. September, 2004
Bibliography
Hamilton, Edith, Mythology, illustrated by Steele Savage, Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1942
Del Chiaro, Mario, Classical Art – Sculpture, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California, 1984.
Stokstad, Marilyn, Art History, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, New York, 2002.
The Art News, New York, March 22, 1930.
The Dictionary of Art, Jane Turner, ed. New York: Groves Dictionaries, 1998.
POSTSCRIPT
LOS ANGELES – As a result of a long-term loan and conservation agreement, the J. Paul Getty Museum will put on view 14 works of art this spring from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s (SBMA) superb collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. On view in the South Pavilion at the Getty Center beginning May 24, the special installation will feature a selection of marble and bronze works depicting gods and goddesses, heroes, athletes, and other subjects. Before going on display, several of the loaned objects are undergoing conservation at the Getty Villa, including an important over-life-size Roman statue of the god Hermes (or Mercury), which is receiving extensive work.
“The Santa Barbara Museum of Art has an outstanding collection of Greek and Roman sculpture, including two important works from the celebrated Lansdowne collection in England—the Lansdowne Hermes and the Lansdowne Dionysos—that have strong ties to our own antiquities collection,” says Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum. “We are thrilled to have this unique opportunity to provide these objects a temporary home so that they can stay on public view while the museum undergoes renovations. At the same time, we are pleased to offer our conservation expertise on several of the sculptures, so that when they return to Santa Barbara, they will do so in better condition than when they arrived.”
Adds Jeffrey Spier, senior curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum, “The loans on view also include many superb ancient Roman versions of Greek sculptures, including the famous athlete known as the Doryphoros, which was created by the artist Polykleitos in the fifth century BC, a Roman copy of Lysippos’s Weary Herakles, and large statues of Athena and Apollo. Also featured is a small but very beautiful head of an Amazon, which is thought to be an original Greek sculpture of the fourth century BC. The objects are beautifully displayed in the Museum’s South Pavilion, where floor-to-ceiling windows overlook Los Angeles.”
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art, this year celebrating its 75th anniversary, has begun an extensive renovation that includes seismic retrofitting and systems upgrades for a 100-plus-year-old building as well as the addition of new gallery and community spaces. Because SBMA is remaining open to the public during the duration of this multiyear project, the antiquities were moved offsite to protect them from any possible harmful effects of the construction.
All but one of the sculptures on display in the Getty installation are from the collection of Wright S. Ludington (1900–1992), a founder and generous benefactor of SBMA who lived in nearby Montecito, California. Like his contemporary J. Paul Getty (1892–1976), Ludington was a passionate collector of Greek and Roman art, though his wide-ranging tastes extended to modern works by Picasso, Matisse, and twentieth-century British artists. Also like Mr. Getty, Ludington acquired important Roman marble statues from the celebrated Lansdowne collection.
“It’s wonderful that the most spectacular of our monumental Greek and Roman sculpture can be showcased so marvelously at the Getty Museum,” says Eik Kahng, SBMA Assistant Director and Chief Curator, “and that additional conservation care is being taken in the treatment of our beloved Lansdowne Hermes. We look forward to learning from our colleagues at the Getty Villa about their discoveries. I am pleased that we found this solution to place these precious works of art in the best possible hands and that they remain accessible to visitors at the nearby Getty Center.”
The Lansdowne Hermes, once considered the most valuable Roman sculpture in England, was discovered in 1771 near Rome. Both the Hermes and the Dionysos statues were purchased by William Fitzmaurice (1737–1805), 2nd Earl of Shelburne and 1st Marquess of Lansdowne, who served as British prime minister from 1782 to 1783. His house in London, known as Lansdowne House, contained a superb collection of ancient Roman sculpture acquired in Italy, including the famous Herakles in the Getty’s collection, which is on display at the Villa.
The Lansdowne Hermes will go on display later this summer as part of the special installation following the completion of its conservation work. The statue has a long history of restorative interventions using diverse materials, which over time created some structural issues and discoloration. Getty Museum antiquities conservator Erik Risser has focused on identifying the past restorations and how they relate to the structural stability and aesthetics of the statue. The conservation treatment is concentrated on stabilizing and removing compromising materials to return the statue to its original appearance.
Greek and Roman Sculpture from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is curated by Jeffrey Spier, senior curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum, and Jens Daehner, associate curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum. The works in this exhibition are on long-term loan from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art while it undergoes a multiyear renovation for seismic retrofitting and refurbishment.
- Ancient Greek And Roman Sculptures From The Santa Barbara Museum Of Art, Getty Museum Press Release, May 18, 2016
SBMA CURATORIAL LABELS
Discovered in 1771 near Rome, this sculpture of the god Hermes is a Roman copy of an earlier Greek work from the fourth century BCE. In ancient times sculptures like this could be found in both public and domestic spaces. After rediscovery, he was displayed at Lansdowne House in London, the home of William Fitzmaurice (1737-1805) who was the British Prime Minister in 1782-83. As the god of travelers, Hermes is shown with a traveler’s cloak draped over his left shoulder and wrapped around his arm. Extensive research conducted by conservators from the J. Paul Getty Museum revealed that the sculpture’s right leg and the palm tree which supports him originally came from a different ancient statue. In past centuries it was common to complete fragmented ancient works by using pieces from other sculptures in this manner.
- Ludington Court Reopening, 2021