Created by the prodigious talent Gian Lorenzo Bernini, The Rape of Proserpina stands as one of the defining masterpieces of Baroque sculpture. Completed between 1621 and 1622, when Bernini was just 23 years old, the piece showcases the artist’s unparalleled skill and mastery of marble, capturing intense emotion and physicality in stone.

The sculpture depicts the mythological abduction of Proserpina by Pluto, the god of the underworld. With dramatic realism, Bernini brings this tragic myth to life, portraying Proserpina’s struggle against Pluto’s grasp, her body twisting in an anguished expression of both fear and defiance. The scene is full of dynamic movement, as if frozen in the midst of violent action.

What makes this sculpture truly extraordinary is Bernini’s ability to transform the cold, hard marble into something so lifelike. Proserpina’s skin appears to have the softness of flesh, and the texture of Pluto’s hands holding her thigh conveys an almost tactile sensation. The detail is so extraordinary that it almost seems as though the figures are alive, a testament to Bernini’s incredible attention to naturalistic detail.