The Abduction of Proserpina by Bernini.

Sculpture

The Abduction of Proserpina

The Abduction of Proserpina

The Abduction of Proserpina

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

About the sculpture

Pluto seizes Proserpina as her body twists away and his fingers press into her flesh. Cerberus marks the threshold of the underworld, while her tears make the myth physically immediate. Bernini uses marble to stage violence, resistance, and the terrifying passage into another realm.

ARTWORK DETAILS

1621–1622

Baroque

Galleria Borghese

Rome

Gian Lorenzo Bernini / Galleria Borghese