File:Abduction of Proserpina (52888383339).jpg

The Abduction of Proserpina was completed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in 1622, when he was only 23 years old. It depicts the myth of Porsepina, the daughter of Jupiter and Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. She is gathering flowers when she is seized by the god of the underworld, Pluto. Pluto erupts from the ground and forces Proserpina into the underworld with him, but not before Ceres could hear her daughter scream. Ceres dried the earth and caused harvests to fail, prompting Jupiter to negotiate a deal: Pluto and Ceres would each have Proserpina for half the year. The myth symbolizes the changing of the seasons: when Proserpina is with Pluto, nature dies and winter begins; when she resides with Ceres, spring has arrived. Bernini's statue depicts the climatic moment of the story, when Pluto grabs Proserpina, who struggles against him as he carries her over the border of the underworld, symbolized by Cerberus, the three-headed dog. This is my favorite of Bernini’s marble sculptures. Each surface is treated with unparalled realism, such as the fur of Cerberus, the way Porsepina's flesh yields to Pluto's hands, and the single stream of tears on her face.