Antinous: godlike images |
‘But I have been more preoccupied by the face of another. As soon as he began to count in my life art ceased to be luxury and became a resource, a form of succour. I have forced this image upon the world: there are today more portraits of that youth than of any illustrious man whatsoever, or of any queen.’
Marguerite Yourcenar, Memoirs of Hadrian
(quoted on Henry Moore Institute website)
THE FIGURE of a young man, who died mysteriously before his twentieth birthday, has become for later centuries a kind of embodiment of classical antiquity. The reason, beyond his exceptional youthful beauty, is that his lover happened to be the Emperor Hadrian, who unburdened his personal grief across the length and breadth of the Empire – in innumerable statues, busts and specially minted coins.
A major exhibition, curated by classicist Caroline Vout of the University of Nottingham, is the first in Britain to explore the mythical image of Antinous, who became elevated to almost god-like status in the centuries that followed his death. ‘Antinous: The Face of the Antique’ brings together items from all over Europe for a summer-long exhibition at the Henry Moore Institute, Leeds.
Antinous was born around 111AD, becoming part of the Emperor’s inner circle – and his lover – until his mysterious death in the Nile before his twentieth birthday. Whether his death was an accident, murder, suicide or religious sacrifice is unknown – but his iconic youth and beauty, and the extravagance of Hadrian’s mourning, encouraged the development of a cult. Just as Hadrian, in his grief, commissioned busts and statues of his beloved, the Emperor’s astute subjects showed their loyalty by creating memorials of their own – at least 31 provincial cities minted coins in Antinous’s honour.
Such was the appeal of the Antinous story that over time he was elevated to the status of something akin to a god, and began to be represented as a god might be. Consequently, the image of Antinous has survived as one of the ubiquitous subjects of classical art – he has more sculptures to his name than almost any other figure from classical antiquity.
Archaeologists and classicists have worked extensively, over recent years, to define the corpus of Antinous portraiture, basing their identification primarily on his hairstyle. Caroline Vout said: “Antinous’s beauty endures. He brings a very human, even emotional dimension to the study of ancient sculpture and helps us re-assess the relationship between our own culture and classical antiquity.”
The exhibition runs at the Henry Moore Institute until 27 August. It is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, with essay and entries by Dr Vout, along with extracts from historical texts. |
