The Rape of Proserpina

The Rape of Proserpina

Bernini's mythological sculpture that depicts the Roman myth of Pluto and Proserpina.

Bernini’s “The Rape of Prosperina” marble sculpture portrays the abduction of Proserpina, also known as Persephone, who is seized by the god of the underworld Pluto. The work was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese for his four large-scale sculpture commissions which also included “Apollo and Daphne” and “David.” The sculpture was originally going to be placed in the Villa Borghese.

However, Cardinal Scipione Borghese notably decided to gift this sculpture to Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi as a tribute to his enemy. Many scholars have thus noted that this was a “poisoned gift” of sorts. The chosen subject matter plays with Ludovisi’s central symbols; the sculpture’s themes counter Ludovisi’s so-called golden age rule; the sculpture by contrast announces the beginning of a bleak age.

Here, we see again that Bernini bases his work on Ovid’s illustration of the Greek myth. According to the myth, Persephone was once picking flowers with friends and was then violently attacked by Pluto who was madly in love with her. Persephone is depicted afraid, screaming for help and raising her arm against Pluto’s face. Through his impeccable skill with marble, Bernini makes her seem almost weightless as she’s being carried away by Pluto. The tactile depictions of the sculpture are truly remarkable; you can see Pluto’s aggressive mannerism, grabbing her skin.

Bernini does, however, skew away a bit from Ovid’s scriptures in this piece. Bernini adds a third member to the sculpture: Cerberus, the multi-headed dog of Pluto that guards the underworld. The creature sits at the bottom of the composition, portraying the threshold of the underworld.

Overall, Bernini still captures Ovid’s mythological themes of metamorphosis. This sculpture, after all, is an allegory of the changing of the seasons and the transformation of the changing climate. Furthermore, the story illustrates the transformation of Persephone as a woman who must now live two lives– one in the underworld for half the year and the other back at home.

The sculpture also portrays the baroque theme of memento mori and the ancient theme of death and resurrection. Many scholars argue that this story parallels Christian themes of death and mortality; it could also communicate the tragedy of lust. Here, we see a connection between Christianity and mythology which could further illuminate why we continue to see mythological artworks during the time of the Catholic Reformation. Greek and Roman stories can be used to communicate Christian messages as shown by this work by Bernini.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Strunck, Christina. "The poisoned present. A new reading of Gianlorenzo Bernini's Rape of Proserpina." (2014): 185-201.

Bacchi, Andrea, and Anna Coliva. Bernini. Milano: Officina Libraria srl, 2017.

Dickerson, Claude Douglas, Anthony Sigel, Ian Wardropper, Andrea Bacchi, Tomaso Montanari, Steven F. Ostrow, and A. Lawrence Jenkens. Bernini: Sculpting in Clay. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012.

Wilkins, Ann Thomas. “Bernini and Ovid: Expanding the Concept of Metamorphosis.” International Journal of the Classical Tradition 6, no. 3 (2000): 383–408. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30222585.

Wikemedia

1621-1622

225 cm

Marble sculpture

Borghese Gallery and Museum