The Rape of Persephone by Gianlorenzo Bernini
Last edited Mon Apr 27, 2015, 08:21 AM - Edit history (1)
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The Rape of Persephone. Gianlorenzo Bernini. 1621. Galleria Borghese. Rome.
The rape --- or abduction, as the word rape was defined in 17th century in Rome -- in ancient myth was a popular theme, among others, in its time. And Gianlorenzo Bernini was a man of his time. As a visual artist Bernini was up against the older (by 27 years) and very famous fellow Rome artist, Caravaggio. He had to make a name for himself all of his own, against that competition.
Bernini did it in sculpture. And with high drama to enact the old myth that Hades, the god of the underworld, wanted Persephone, goddess of flowers, to be his wife and queen. When she is out among her flowers, he erupts from the underworld to carry her forcefully down to his kingdom.
We see in this sculpture the moment he grabs her. Persephone’s hand smashes into Hades’s head, causing him to flinch and his head to reel back from the blow. The muscles in the calf of his flexed leg bulge as she struggles to free herself. He is determined to carry her off, but she will not go without a fight.
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The artist has presented this Greek/Roman god of the underworld as a large violent hulk, in dramatic contrast to the lovely goddess of flowers, daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest). According to the sad myth Demeter is so grief stricken that she goes to earth looking for her daughter. She goes to Zeus asking for his help to get Persephone back, threatening to withhold all vegetation from the earth. Persephone is then returned, but since she has eaten the forbidden pomegranate seeds given to her by Hades while she was in the underworld, she will have to spend three months of each year with him. Demeter inflicts barrenness upon the earth during the time she is gone. This is the ancient Greek/Roman myth explaining the season of winter.
Bernini captures the terror of this girl in a kind of lurid beauty. There is the rush upon seeing this huge sculpture in its entirety, experiencing the girl’s sheer panic and Hades’ cruelty, with Cerberus, his middle head in full open mouthed snarl at their feet. In the Borghese Gallery, an ornate 18th century house museum in Rome, it is a stunning masterpiece meant to be walked around and viewed from every angle. Paired with Bernini’s “Apollo and Daphne” in the same gallery it is a one-two punch at your senses.
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“Apollo and Daphne,” 1622-1625.
Both sculptures are, in the Hollywood lingo, “boffo.” They kill. And Baroque artists knew all about that. Certainly Bernini, who was also an actor and director in the burgeoning popular theater and opera which flourished in 17th century Rome, was quite an enthusiast. He knew the staged lighting of his day and theatrical presentation. Fare la bella figura, indeed.
Bernini does it exceptionally well in his depiction of Hades’ hands on his prey. A viewer cannot believe they are making that impression on stone...Bernini has succeeded in making her flesh, carved in cold, hard marble, seem elastic as Hades’ fingers dig into her thigh and around her waist...an incredible feat of artistry.
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In his “Power of Art" series Simon Schama makes reference to Bernini’s “silky nudes” --women’s bodies the sculptor has made lush and fluid and smooth in their marble. In this work her gesture is physically intense but delicate. In contrast, there is the pulsing muscularity of Hades’ arms and back, buttocks and his stalking feet as he makes his attack.
Bernini’s use of contrapposto (or counterpose) -- e.g. the classic pose of Michelangelo’s David -- is riveting. But here not one, but two, subjects of the sculpture are intricately involved, Hades and Persephone, twisting and turning. Bernini also employs the upward spiral pose known as La Figura Serpentinata of the Mannerist period (after High Renaissance and before Baroque) sculptor, Giambologna, who preceded Bernini by nearly 40 years.
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Rape of the Sabine Women. Giambologna. 1583. Loggia dei Lanzi. Florence.
By the late 16th century the center of Italian art had left Florence and moved to Rome. Caravaggio and Bernini, along with the architect Borromini, were transforming the artistic and architectural appearance of the Eternal City into the Baroque style that we can still see today.
The myth of Persephone is not lost on our sensibilities in our own time. Two modern, prominent women poets have pondered deeply about this myth. Rita Dove writes in “Persephone, Falling”
One narcissus among the ordinary beautiful
flowers, one unlike all the others! She pulled,
stooped to pull harder—
when, sprung out of the earth
on his glittering terrible
carriage, he claimed his due.
It is finished. No one heard her.
No one! She had strayed from the herd.
(Remember: go straight to school.
This is important, stop fooling around!
Don’t answer to strangers. Stick
with your playmates. Keep your eyes down.)
This is how easily the pit
opens. This is how one foot sinks into the ground.
In a longer poem entitled “A Myth of Devotion”, Louise Gluck traces Hades’ plotting and carrying out the kidnapping of Persephone, ending with the lines
A soft light rising above the level meadow,
behind the bed. He takes her in his arms.
He wants to say I love you, nothing can hurt you
but he thinks
this is a lie, so he says in the end
you're dead, nothing can hurt you
which seems to him
a more promising beginning, more true.
= new reply since forum marked as read
but I prefer my tomato soup in the bowl!!!
Thanks for posting. Very impressive artwork.
You ask for feedback.. What can one say?
"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
............."
Maybe your best effort yet. Your writing is as powerful as the sculptures.
All I can do is quote someone else...
von Stade singing Cherubino! We used to go to the opera series we once had here in New Haven, but Der Rosenkavalier wasn't one of them 
. I would probably love it...
My then-girl friend had several lessons/coaching sessions with her her way back...in the '70s right after von Stade first hit the 'big time.'.
I didn't know your knowledge of music. Maybe I wrote a little simplistically. :>
)
Do see Rosenkavalier if you ever have the chance. I grew up with the Bernstein, Vienna recording and just listening to Lucia Popp and Christa Ludwig makes life worth living. He takes some of the cuts that were not uncommon then, but.....
I have never been to Italy. A trip is on my bucket list--If I can make that happen I will definitely be sure to see Benini.
Thank you for this wonderful introduction.
Last edited Sat Apr 25, 2015, 05:08 PM - Edit history (1)
it's nice because these sites are much less crowded and you can walk just about everywhere in Florence. I always recommend that folks spend less time in the Pitti Palace and more time with the frescoes by Masaccio and where to find the two Last Suppers by Ghirlandaio (probably my favorite Early Italian Renaissance painter) and which one has the little cat...
(You probably know the old New Yorker cartoon of a guy rushing into the Louvre and saying "Quick, where's the Mona Lisa? I'm double parked!"
It makes for a fun visit to discover these gems...
Thanks for all the great info.
I also have good friends in toronto who have been to Florence. That would help also.
But you are a fountain of knowledge and info...
one of my photos that I uploaded for that thread magically changed into a photo of the face of an Indian woman. WTF? I went back and edited the thread and uploaded the correct photo but I am mystified. It's never happened before and I've been using tinypic.com for a few years for these posts. I just went to ATA to inquire how that could possibly happen...
I'm listening to classical music and reading your post. Totally enjoyed the history of the sculptures and mythology behind them.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank for sharing these works and your interpretations, I've missed the last few weeks and lament that fact.
Since I was a child in New England I have longed to go to travel the world to experience the great works of art and architecture, at least I can see some of it from time to time with your Fridays sharing!
Amazing. Makes the statue look so lifelike
Thanks as always. 
I looked up the translation. The sentiment is what I might expect, but the music is 
I was in the big choir, and we learned some madrigals in that setting. The small choir was called the Madrigal Singers, and they were the really good singers. I actually remember snatches of those songs, some in French as well as English. They did tend toward the fa-la-la, it is true. 
Who knew there was an insane Italian waiting for them in college?
it just blows me away what people created without electricity, artifical light, power tools etc. Now, with all those advantages, we get crap like this supposed sculpture of the Axtec god Quetzalcoatl in dowtown San Jose, Ca.
Sad
This structure he designed in the Vatican
This plaza design
The Ecstasy of St. Teresa
Just the thought of it makes me 
I look forward to them and I always learn something new. (especially since I have had almost no exposure to great works of art)
Your passion is contagious.
He could make marble into anything he wished. These statues are wonderful examples of his talent.
I actually think the original title of the Persephone statue is accurate. The statue represents the moment that Hades kidnaps her, it doesn't represent the actual rape. None of the statues with this theme do, it would have been too crass for the era.
The Renaissance commenced in Florence and spread from there to the rest of Europe. The Medici family in particular were big supporters of the arts. When Catherine de Medici was married off to Francis I's younger son (he later became king Henry II when his older brother died), she took to France a large entourage and brought with her the comforts of the Florentine court. Catherine was a smart and cultured woman who loved the arts and architecture in particular. The lists of "firsts" that she brought to France, and that were then spread to other European courts, is extensive. Such as the fork. People had only used spoons and knifes up to that point. She was short, so she and her shoemaker designed the first pair of heels. She was an excellent rider, but had a bad fall and it was hard for her to ride astride. The side saddle style of the era was dangerous and caused many falls. She helped design a new style that added a second horn. That feature is still in use today. She brought her own perfumer and popularized the habit of using perfumes on a regular basis. Perfumes have since become one of France's largest exports. Catherine also brought chefs that changed the country's cuisine until it became what we now identify as French haute cuisine. She brought ice cream to France. During her reign the style of dance we know today as ballet was created. Catherine was quite the Renaissance woman.
Thanks for this post. It's nice to talk about culture and history once in a while, instead of the constant political arguments.
And thanks for the info about Catherine. She was pretty amazing. I'm glad her history has not been excised because she is a woman. And I'm glad she didn't die in childbirth as so many women did in those days.
Florence's history during the early Italian Renaissance was just fascinating. There is a great essay by Jill Burke, a socialist art historian, entitled "Florentine Art and the Public Good." It's a chapter in a book about Florence that was given to me by my son. The city was a republic, for one thing, altho a limited one by today's standards. The guilds were just as likely to support art as the rich banking families, such as the Medici. Modern banking was invented in Florence. Everybody benefited from the rich public art and from living in a beautiful and honorably maintained city. There is something quite noble in that...
Thanks again for stopping by and for your kind comments...
I particularly like to read about strong women. I've always felt that Catherine was vilified because, as they say, history is written by the winners, and her Protestant son-in-law inherited the throne after her last remaining male child was assassinated. Most people think of the St. Bartholomew Massacre when they think of Catherine, but she fought for almost 30 years to keep peace between Catholics and Protestants.
Catherine didn't have a happy life. She was orphaned when she was a few weeks old and became a football for all who wanted to take over Florence. The "Duchessina" (little Duchess), was kept in a convent since the age of 8 to protect her from rebels that had taken over Florence. At one point the rebels threatened to pass her around to be gang raped by the soldiers or to kill her and hung her body from the city walls. Luckily, her uncle Pope Clement was able to free her and married her at 14 to the king of France's son. She fell in love with Henry, but to his dying breath at 40 he only loved his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. During the first 10 years of her marriage Catherine couldn't get pregnant. There were rumors that she should be banished and sent back to Italy, but Francis I rejected that advice. He loved his bright, spunky daughter-in-law who was well read and liked to ride and hunt with him. He took her during his travels through France because he found her to be good company. When she finally did become pregnant she continued to be quite fertile. She gave birth to ten children. Her oldest son Francis was married as a teenager to Mary Stuart.
Catherine was hated by the French. They didn't consider her to be noble enough to wear the crown (although her mother had been a French noblewoman and her Medici father a Duke). She was also reviled for being a foreigner. She was called "Madame Serpent", the "Italian Woman" and Mary Stuart labeled her the "Italian Merchant Woman" (it explains why Mary only received perfunctory help from France when she became Elizabeth's prisoner). Despite it all, she and Elizabeth I of England were the most powerful women of the 16th century.
I have to check out the book you mentioned, it sounds interesting.
