Pluto and Persephone

Pluto and Persephone (c. 1621-1622)

The next sculpture in the series commissioned for Scipione begins the three great Bernini works of the Villa in which Bernini achieved his new style. The work shows the maiden Persephone being abducted by the god of the underworld, Pluto, and being taken to Hades, past the three headed dog Cerberus who guards its borders. Pluto’s fingers press into her flesh as he holds her to his chest while she pushes at his head in her struggle to escape. The turbulent emotion in this scene pours from the marble. Rudolf Wittkower states: “Bernini interpreted this old rape-theme as a conflict between brutal lust and desperate anguish, emphasizing the contrasting feelings of the two figures by various compositional subtleties…” Persephone’s body twists away from her captor and her face is frozen mid cry with tears running down her cheek. Bernini’s intricate details show movement and struggle with her hair in tendrils flying back from her shoulders. Pluto’s face is slightly distorted as Persephone’s hand pushes at its side. His expression reflects bemusement at her futile struggle, as he is obviously triumphant in his goal- indicated by the presence of ferocious Cerberus as his feet. The three heads of the beast snarl, bearing their precisely carved teeth, with such detail from the swirls of fur on their body to their claws that it looks as if it might come alive. Bernini was a master at being able to convey emotions through marble. Each nuance of the piece contributes to the feelings it portrays: from Persephone’s tears to the way Pluto’s fingers sink into his captive’s flesh. This work was the first of a monumental trio.
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