Cerberus (detail)Gian Lorenzo Bernini

This vivid detail of Cerberus, the three-headed hound of Hades, anchors Bernini’s Rape of Proserpina (1621–22) in the underworld. Each snarling head is carved with anatomical precision, emphasizing Pluto’s dominion over death. The mythic beast underscores the violent rupture between the world above and the realm below.