In Book V of the Metamorphoses<\/i>, Ovid recounts the abduction of Proserpina by Pluto, lord of the underworld. The young woman, busy gathering flowers, is captured and dragged into the realm of the dead. Her mother Ceres, goddess of the harvest, distraught over her loss, renders the earth barren, causing a severe famine. It is only through Jupiter\u2019s intervention that balance is restored: Proserpina, having eaten a few pomegranate seeds that bind her to the underworld, will be able to spend part of the year on earth and part with Pluto. The myth thereby explains the changing of the seasons: when the goddess returns to her mother, nature blossoms once again; when she descends into the underworld, the earth withers and prepares for rest.<\/p>\n
The dramatic power of this tale has been a great inspiration to artists throughout the ages. The works on exhibit powerfully convey the evocative power of Ovid\u2019s story, defining the imagery associated with Pluto. The exhibition moves on from the classical Roman group of Hercules<\/i> <\/i>and<\/i> <\/i>Cerberus<\/i>, which introduces the three-headed dog, guardian of the underworld and symbol of the boundary between life and death, to the sarcophagus depicting scenes from the myth, and the painting by Agostino Carracci (1557\u20131602) portraying Pluto<\/i>. The itinerary continues with Orpheus and Eurydice <\/i>by Rubens (1577\u20131640), which depicts the two lovers as they make their way through the darkness of Tartarus \u2018through silent stillness\u2019.<\/p>\n
At the centre of the section is the Galleria Borghese\u2019s masterpiece: the Rape<\/i> <\/i>of<\/i> <\/i>Proserpina<\/i> <\/i>by Bernini (1598\u20131680). There is extraordinary intensity in the rendering of this scene: Pluto\u2019s fingers sinking into the young woman\u2019s flesh, the terror on Proserpina\u2019s face, and the whirling movement of the bodies, bring the frenzied verses of the poet\u2019s account of the abduction to life through the material quality of the sculpture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Book V of the Metamorphoses, Ovid recounts the abduction of Proserpina by Pluto, lord of the underworld. The young woman, busy gathering flowers, is captured and dragged into the realm of the dead. Her mother Ceres, goddess of the harvest, distraught over her loss, renders the earth barren, causing a severe famine. It is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":18738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-approfondimenti"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n