11/21/2023 0 Comments Hades greek statueBernini is famous for portraying the most poignant moment in a story and for communicating that event in the most dramatic way possible, by means of exuberant movement, emotive facial expressions, and feats of technical mastery. Drama: Bernini chooses to depict the most dramatic, "pregnant" moment in the story the scene is filled with heart-rending emotion. Bernini's pieces can always be recognized by the minute attention to detail, grandiose theatricality, and ornate design. Like his other works, the Rape of Persephone is fraught with emotion and tension, achieving a hitherto unseen level of life-like action. This stunning sculpture exemplifies the best of the baroque and demonstrates Bernini's ability to handle marble and produce credible figures. In 1908, the Italian state purchased the work and relocated it to the Galleria Borghese. The Commission: Cardinal Scipione Borghese commissioned The Rape of Persephone from the 23-year-old Bernini in 1621, giving it to Cardinal Ludovisi in 1622. Modern readers should note that in Bernini's time the word "rape" signified "kidnapping" thus, the sculpture thus represents the kidnapping of Persephone. The myth holds that the months Persephone spends in the underworld leave the earth cold, dark, and wintry, but when she returns, spring and summer accompany her. She was thus doomed to spend six months of the year with Hades, while for the other six months she could return to Earth to see her mother. But when she thought no one was looking, Persephone went into the garden and ate six pomegranate seeds. Demeter begged Zeus to command the release of her daughter, and Persephone was told that she would be released from the underworld, as long as she didn't consume any food while she was there. One day while the young maiden was picking flowers, Hades, god of the underworld, kidnapped Persephone and carried her back to the underworld to be his wife. In Greek mythology, Persephone (also known as Proserpina) was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter (goddess of agriculture) and was queen of the Underworld.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |