Cerberus
2023 © Maxim Tabachnik
Pauline Bonaparte as Venus VictrixTemple of Aesculapius, Villa Borghese
The Rape of ProserpinaThe Rape of ProserpinaThe Rape of ProserpinaThe Rape of ProserpinaThe Rape of ProserpinaThe Rape of ProserpinaThe Rape of ProserpinaCerberus
Sunset Among the Stone PinesAdoration of the ChildDavidApollo and DaphneThe Council of the GodsSaint Jerome WritingAeneas, Anchises, and AscaniusThe EntombmentBronze Statue of King Umberto IShaded Promenade of Villa BorgheseYoung Sick BacchusDavid with the Head of GoliathApollo and Daphne with The Apotheosis of RomulusMadonna and Child with St AnneRoman Civilization and the Heroic Virtue of HonorBoy with a Basket of FruitSacred and Profane LoveMale Herm with Fruit BasketFountain of the SatyrsFountain of VenusProspettiva Wall, Parco dei DainiMonument to Francisco de Paula SantanderParterre with Statues and TulipsMonument to Alexander PushkinGrotesque Fountain MaskParterre and FountainThe Quiet FountainMax Amid Roman EchoesThe Apotheosis of RomulusTruth Unveiled by TimeBust of Cardinal Scipione BorgheseYoung Woman with a UnicornHistoric Gardens of Villa BorgheseAtlantes and DeitiesMax aming Berninis and CaravaggiosPope Paul V BorghesePope Paul VMax Contemplates Bernini’s Pluto and ProserpinaVenus Blindfolding CupidNikolai GogolFireplace

CerberusdetailGian Lorenzo Bernini

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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.