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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

The Rape of Proserpina by Bernini

29/4/2020

 
Map
The Rape of Proserpina by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Galleria Borghese, Rome
The Rape of Proserpina by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

The Rape of Proserpina was commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese, the fabulously wealthy nephew of Pope Paul V (r. 1605-21), and executed between 1621 and 1622 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini  (1598-1680), who was just twenty-three years old when he completed it. 

The sculpture depicts the abduction of Proserpina (Greek: Persephone) by Pluto (Hades), god of the the Underworld. ​Proserpina was the daughter of Jupiter (Zeus) and Ceres (Demeter), the goddess of agriculture.

While out picking flowers, Proserpina was seized by Pluto, who burst from the earth. Ceres heard her scream as she was being dragged into the underworld. In response to the abduction of her daughter, Ceres caused the earth to dry up and the harvests to fail. Jupiter saw that the earth was barren and dead and decided to intervene. He struck a deal with Pluto: Proserpina would spend half the year on earth and half in the underworld. 

The Rape of Proserpina (det.) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Galleria Borghese, Rome
The Rape of Proserpina (det.)

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    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
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      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
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    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque
  • Images of the Eternal City