THE BARBERINI FAUN

SOME NUMBERS OF AN ANCIENT SEXY BEAST

The Barberini Faun in the Glyptothek Munich, marble sculpture, late 3rd or early 2nd century BCE.
© Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek München, Photo: Renate Kühling

Unearthed in Rome 400 years ago: in the 1620s the fragmented marble sculpture was found in the moat of the Castel Sant’ Angelo, the ancient mausoleum to the emperor Hadrian, during restoration works to the castle. The sculpture had heavy damage: The Faun’s right leg was completely missing, as was the left arm. There was damage to the left leg too as well as to parts of the head, the nose and both hands were damaged. According to accounts of the historian Procopius, sculptures adorning the mausoleum were pushed down at the attacking Goths during the Siege of Rome in the year 537 and it is possible that this is how the sculpture ended in this temporary resting place where it remained hidden underground for more than 1000 years. The restoration of the Castel Sant’ Angelo was overseen by the Barberini Pope Urban VIII., who had the sensational find brought into his family palace in Rome, where it remained for more than 170 years from where it hence received its name: The Barberini Faun.
Its first documented mention is a receipt for its restoration from 1628 as, at the time, the state of the damaged sculpture was not seen as satisfactory for a suitable presentation within any collection. Over the years, several restoration works were undertaken – and eventually reverted. It seems that it was initially assumed that the Faun belonged into a lying position and it is possibly this early restoration state that is being shown in the engraving here that was initially made in 1642 for the volume Aedes Barberinae by Hieronymus Tetius, a largely text based description and homage to the Barberini Palace and collection. The Faun is shown inverted and it is not uncommon for these engravings that depict sculptures to take considerable creative liberties and to appear much more to show the real life being that is the subject of the sculpture rather than the art object made of cold stone – as is certainly the case with this sexy beast here! The massive rock in the engraving is also an invention.
A new restoration to the sculpture in 1679 reverted the lying position back into a seated one and this restoration also included the reattachment of an original part of the left leg.

The Pacetti clay model of the faun at the Bode Museum Berlin

The Barberini Faun, engraving from 1642 for the volume Aedes Barberinae by Hieronymus Tetius and republished with minor alterations in Romanum museum sive thesaurus eruditae antiquitatis in 1746

The fact that the print reproduced here was republished 100 years later in 1746, (the title FAUNUS and Museo Barberini have been added only for this reuse of the printing plate) shows the appreciation for such artistic interpretations as at that time the difference between this image and the sculpture in the collection must have been an accepted fact.
Financial difficulties forced the Barberini family in 1799 to sell the Faun to the sculptor and restorer Vincenzo Pacetti, who planned and completed another major restoration, which entailed to remove the earlier restorations. Part of his work was a new replacement of the right leg, which he raised slightly higher as well as he opened up the angle, drawing even more attention to the Faun’s exposed genitalia. The result is an increased vitality to the sleeping figure and an even more sexualised body. To prepare and evaluate the changed composition, he produced the clay model that today is housed in the Bode Museum in Berlin. Apart from being a marvellous piece of art itself it is an interesting document for us today as Pacetti’s restoration too were eventually reverted. When Pacetti attempted to resell the restored Faun the Barberini family feared it would leave Italy and legally blocked its export. After some legal wrangling, Pacetti was forced to return the sculpture to the family in 1804. However, a mere 10 years later in 1814 the Barberinis changed their opinion on export and themselves sold the Faun to Prince Ludwig I. of Bavaria who was an ardent collector of ancient sculptures. Further attempts to block the Faun leaving Italy, this time from outside the family, delayed the sale but the Faun finally went on his journey across the Alps and arrived in Munich in 1820 where is was installed in a specially designed room in the Glyptothek, which opened in 1830, meaning the Faun has been in his current home for 200 years.

Clay model of the Barberini Faun by Vincenzo Pacetti made in 1799 for the restoration of the antique marble sculpture. October 2020, Bode Museum, Berlin. The sculpture is part of the current series: Der zweite Blick / The Second Glance, which points out issues related to works of art or artists that are usually not discussed, in this case the trail “All Forms of Love” deals with works made by male homosexual artists or those close to this group, organized together with the Schwules Museum, Berlin. Photo: Klaus Wehner, with kind permission by the Bode Museum, Berlin

Opinions are divided whether the Faun is a Hellenistic work originating from the late third or early second century BC or if it is a later Roman copy of such a Hellenistic work. There seems to be more agreement on the Hellenistic origin and there is also no other version or copy known in existence as would often be the case with copied sculptures, thus, the Glyptothek lists his origin at around 220 BC and therefore, give or take a century or two - this sexy beast is for sure more than 2000 years old.
Continuing alterations to fit contemporaneous tastes… in 1965, to correspond to the now prominent appreciation of showing ancient sculptures the way these were originally found without any additions that must always be based on creative liberties by the restorers, a controversial de-restoration had all non-original elements removed from the Faun: parts of the rock, the right ‘Pacetti-leg’ which by then was itself nearly 200 years old, the left arm, some fingers (that may have been damaged during the journey to Munich), even the replaced tip of the nose. However, the Glyptothek also eventually concluded that Pacetti’s restorations have been largely ‘correct’ and a new right leg was attached – not showing quite the more provocative Pacetti angle. The left, hanging arm was not replaced and in this state the Faun is currently displayed at the Glyptothek. A fig leaf covered the Faun’s two thousand year old penis fragment between 1860 to 1920, which is currently on proud naked display. However, what this long history of alteration should remind us on is that it all could well change again and again…

NUMBERS ASIDE: As can be expected, ever since the moment of its rediscovery, this Beast has attracted a wealth of reactions, emotions and other responses changing as much with contemporaneous sensibilities and thinking modes as the coming and going replacement limbs.
Fact is that he looks very much like a youthful muscular (hu)man. Only the horses tail seen on his left side and the pointed ears, barely showing under his thick hair, mark this creature as a Faun (Roman) or Satyr (Greek), though clearly the non-human element is not emphasised. Fauns or Satyrs are companions of the God Dionysus. These are often depicted with non-human goats legs, the pose is usually sexually predatory, phallic and often even indifferent to the species that is the object of their desire. This Faun is different because he is depicted in a drunken sleep. He is himself a passive object of desire to the viewer. For sure, the Faun’s highly erotic sexy appearance has not been lost on many viewers in the last 400 years. Spread legs showing uncovered genitalia are rare in all of art history, even though in art the depiction of mythical figures and stories is often the vehicle to show erotic idealised youthful naked bodies. Art is a cultural context in which the usually repressed or forbidden issues of nudity and sexuality as well as violence are allowed and appreciated. To me, there is a bit of both in this beast and that adds to his irresistible attraction: His beauty is in the contrast he presents. He sleeps, but his sleep looks uncomfortable. He just passed out for a second this moment. His pose is not that of a relaxed sleeper and there is some nervous energy about him. His face is gorgeous but not ‘fine’-looking; beautiful and rough. His slightly larger than human size, the well-built body with its powerful muscles come with the hybrid nature of being half-animal. If the drunk Faun woke up – his eyes could well be terrifying and he would probably tear me to pieces.