Baroque Blog By Gabrielle Baxter
The story behing the sculpture is the abduction of Proserpina, the daughter of Jupiter and Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. Proserpina was attacked by Pluto, the god of the dead, and dragged into the underworld. When Ceres realized that Pluto had abducted Proserpine, she became angry and caused the earth to dry up, and the harvests to fail. Jupiter saw from the heavens that the earth was barren and dead. He decided to intervene, and eventually a deal was made where Proserpine would spend half of the year with her mother and half of the year in the underworld with Pluto.
Unlike sculptures done during the Italian Renaissance, that appear relaxed, sculptures done during the Baroque Era give off the appearance that the body is in motion. The diagonal lines for instance from the top of Proserpina's head to the bottom of Plutos right leg and the cross diagonals of Pluto and Proserpina's arms create contours and shadows. Another angle of the sculpture showing Pluto's hand squeezing Proserpina's thigh and waist give the illusion of flesh.
In terms of the Council of Trent, although it did not specify what art should look like, it was suggested that art should illicit emotional responses as well as be educational and clear or easy to understand. When you look at the above sculpture, even without knowing the back story, to me I feel it is clear. You get the sence of a struggle. She is trying to flee while the second angle shows his physical restraint.
I enjoy the sculptures from the Baroque Era moreso than the Italian Renaisance. To me when I look at the above sculpture by Bernini or the scupture of David by Bernini it feels like you are in the moment with them. From their pose to the way their muscles are flexed and even the facial expression of David before he hurls the stone at Goliath.
Richman-Abdou, Kelly. "A Detailed Look at Bernini's Most Dramatically Lifelike Marble Sculpture." My Modern Met, 13 October 2019, https://mymodernmet.com/bernini-the-rape-of-proserpina/.
"The Rape of Proserpina." Wikipedia, 27 September 2021, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rape_of_Proserpina.
Kilroy-Ewbank, Dr. Lauren. "The Council of Trent and the Call to Reform Art." SmartHistory, 20 May 2021, https://smarthistory.org/the-council-of-trent-and-the-call-to-reform-art/.
I agree 100% that Bernini was extremely successful in eliciting both emotion and the illusion of movement with his sculptures. It is fascinating to me that this sculpture portrays Roman mythology rather than biblical stories. Personally, I find Roman mythology works to be more appealing, perhaps because they seem like a piece of history, whereas Catholic, Christian and other biblical works of art are still being produced rapidly to this day. The way that Pluto harshly grabs her thigh in this sculpture definitely adds to the portrayal of a struggle between him and Proserpina. I think you put it best when you mentioned that you can tell this is an instance of unwillingness, even without knowing the background of the subjects. I also appreciate that you noted the importance of the translation of the word "rape" in the beginning, as it could definitely be triggering to some people. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHi Gabrielle,
ReplyDeleteI totally see what you are saying about Bernini showing immense detail in this sculpture. I love how he made it look so realistic with the hand on her thigh, and the detail in their muscles. This is a fantastic sculpture. I also agree with what you said about preferring Baroque sculptures over the Renaissance, I feel Baroque artwork has much more emotion and detail.
Great post Gabrielle!
ReplyDeleteYou were absolutely on point when you stated how this sculpture makes it feel as though you were right in the moment with them. The muscular detail in this piece is astounding, the grasping of Prosperpina's thigh shows how much intricate detail Bernini displayed in conjunction with the varying degrees of shading. I also noticed how refined Pluto's in contrast to Prosperpina's smooth texture. I believe that was done to evoke an emotion of damsel in distress in the arms of a legendary god.