Antinous Ecouen - sign
Bust of Antinous, called “Antinous Ecouen”
18th century
Provenance: Île-de-France?
H. 74 cm
This marble bust of the lover of the emperor Hadrian (AD 117–138) was present in the Louvre’s Salle des Antiques in 1793. It was long confused with a bronze sculpture confiscated from the Château d’Écouen in the same year, then transferred to Versailles before later joining the Louvre. Both sculptures reproduce a bust found during the Remaissance that probably came from the Villa Hadriana and is itself very similar to a bust in the Spanish royal collections (Museo Nacional del Prado). The Louvre bust comes from the French royal collections and is an 18th-century copy.
Department of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities
French Royal collections
By the 16th century, Italian antiquities were being sent to the kings of France as diplomatic gifts. In 1604, Henri IV assembled most of this early collection in the Louvre’s Salle des Antiques. First Colbert, then Louvois, set about extending the royal collection on Louis XIV’s behalf. A few marble statues were obtained with difficulty from Italy. To these were fortunately added antiquities offered to the king by French collectors or obtained through diplomats in the eastern Mediterranean. Antiquities from the royal residences were confiscated with the property of the Crown in 1792 and put on display at the Louvre.
Antinous Ecouen - sign
Bust of Antinous, called “Antinous Ecouen”
18th century
Provenance: Île-de-France?
H. 74 cm
This marble bust of the lover of the emperor Hadrian (AD 117–138) was present in the Louvre’s Salle des Antiques in 1793. It was long confused with a bronze sculpture confiscated from the Château d’Écouen in the same year, then transferred to Versailles before later joining the Louvre. Both sculptures reproduce a bust found during the Remaissance that probably came from the Villa Hadriana and is itself very similar to a bust in the Spanish royal collections (Museo Nacional del Prado). The Louvre bust comes from the French royal collections and is an 18th-century copy.
Department of Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities
French Royal collections
By the 16th century, Italian antiquities were being sent to the kings of France as diplomatic gifts. In 1604, Henri IV assembled most of this early collection in the Louvre’s Salle des Antiques. First Colbert, then Louvois, set about extending the royal collection on Louis XIV’s behalf. A few marble statues were obtained with difficulty from Italy. To these were fortunately added antiquities offered to the king by French collectors or obtained through diplomats in the eastern Mediterranean. Antiquities from the royal residences were confiscated with the property of the Crown in 1792 and put on display at the Louvre.