About the Art
- ‘The rape of Proserpina’ by Gian Lorenzo Bernini is perhaps the most famous depiction of the myth. The sculpture is housed in the Galleria Borghese and it is made out of marble. Many people have wondered at the sheer feat of Bernini’s engineering and planning skills to have the stature perfectly balanced as Proserpina tries to escape the clutches of the lunging Pluto. The sculpture is extremely life like to the tiny details of the hair flying behind Proserpina and the pressure dimples on Proserpina’s thighs seemingly creating elastic skin. At the foot of the statue is the three headed dog Cerberus who guards the entrance to the underworld, letting the dead in but not letting them back out into the world of the living. The depiction of the myth seems to capture the terror of Proserpina perfectly and the glee on Pluto’s face.
- Another depiction of the myth is also titled the ‘rape of Proserpine’ by Rembrandt. It is held in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. It also depicts the scene in which Pluto abducts Proserpina but is different to the statue as it shows the golden chariot and other beings clutching on to Proserpina as she is taken away. The painting also shows one of the black stallions that drive Pluto’s chariot.
- The third painting is by Frederic Leighton in 1891 and is titles the ‘The return of Persephone’. It unlike the other pieces of art depicts the joyous yet sad moment when Proserpina (Persephone) is returned to her mother Ceres (Demeter). Proserpina is accompanied by Mercury the messenger.
- The fourth artwork was found on the side of a sarcophagus and also shows the scene of the abduction of Proserpina. It is made out of marble and is believed to have been made around the beginning of the 3rd century AD. It is found in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
- The fifth artwork is a rather contemporary piece by Jeff Koons. It is in fact a new sculpture based off a miniscule version of Bernini’s statue. It is in an upsized scale and is a 4-meter statue, in golden stainless steel. Koons made it by scanning the porcelain artefact and then 3d printing it at four metres tall and covering in a gold coloured stainless steel.
- The sixth artwork is another depiction of Proserpina’s abduction by Pluto. In this image you can see the nymph Cyane imploring for Pluto not to take away Proserpina as the four black stallions drive away the Golden cart. It was painted by the German artist Christoph Schwartz around 1570 AD and is held in the Fitzwilliam museum in Cambridge, UK.
- The seventh artwork was painted in 1650 AD by Francois Perrrier and is currently held in the Louvre in Paris. It depicts a happy and reconciled Proserpina in the Underworld performing her duties as queen of the underworld and wife of Pluto. She looks happier and the painting reflects the variation in which Proserpina does not want to leave the underworld after a little while.
- The eighth artwork is a piece of pottery that also depicts the abduction of Proserpina. It was made around 340 BC and is held in the Antikensammlung Berlin.