Three Artistic Interpretations of the Proserpina Myth from Ovid's Metamorphoses

The Roman myth of Proserpina, daughter of Ceres and Jupiter, who was abducted by Pluto to become queen of the Underworld, has inspired multiple significant artworks. Peter Paul Rubens painted 'The Rape of Proserpina' (1636-37), housed at the Museo del Prado in Madrid, depicting the violent abduction with Baroque dynamism. Gian Lorenzo Bernini sculpted a marble version (1621-22) for Cardinal Scipione Borghese, now in Rome's Borghese Gallery, showcasing dramatic realism. Dante Gabriel Rossetti's 1874 painting 'Proserpina', at Tate Modern in London, uses the pomegranate symbol and features model Jane Morris. The myth explains seasonal cycles through Proserpina's annual return to earth.