The Rape of Proserpina
2023 © Maxim Tabachnik
Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix
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Adoration of the ChildDavidApollo and DaphneThe Council of the GodsSaint Jerome WritingAeneas, Anchises, and AscaniusThe EntombmentYoung 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 LoveMax 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 CupidFireplace

The Rape of ProserpinaGian Lorenzo Bernini

1237
This angle captures the emotional arc of Proserpina’s resistance as she twists away from Pluto’s grasp. Her outstretched arm and flowing hair dramatize the violence of the abduction. Cerberus, the infernal hound, reinforces the mythological setting, while the composition’s spiral motion showcases Bernini’s virtuosity in carving living flesh from marble.