Biscuit Porcelain Sculpture The Rape of Proserpina 1970s

Biscuit sculpture depicting the Rape of Proserpina, made in the 1970s

Ø cm 28 Ø cm 14 h cm 50

The "Rape of Proserpina" is one of the most famous and influential classical myths, central to Greco-Roman mythology, and has been a frequent subject in art, particularly sculpture and painting. It tells of the abduction of the goddess of vegetation by the god of the underworld: Proserpina (or Persephone/Kore to the Greeks), daughter of Ceres (or Demeter), goddess of crops and fertility. Proserpina was gathering flowers in Sicily (or in a valley in Greece) when Pluto, in love with her, emerged from the earth in his chariot drawn by black horses and abducted her, taking her to his underground kingdom to make her his bride.
The myth has inspired countless works, but its undisputed high point in Baroque sculpture is Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s sculpture (1621–1622). The marble statue captures the climactic moment of the abduction with incredible emotional and physical power. The sculpture is famous for rendering marble as though it were flesh: Pluto’s fingers sinking into Proserpina’s thigh and the goddess’s tears demonstrate Bernini’s extraordinary technical skill and virtuosity.