Bernini is a name less well-known to most than the likes of Da Vinci or Michelangelo or Caravaggio but the artist was a great genius and multi-talented innovator who created extraordinary things. As an architect, he was impossibly prolific, came to be one of the most important architects of the 17th century, and was the one who gave us St Peter’s Square in Rome as well as the interior decoration of the Basilica, a number of Rome’s most elegant palazzi, and many other great works.
As a sculptor, he was the leading artist of his time and is credited as the one who initiated the Baroque style. However, in this writer’s opinion, it was his ability to breath life into stone that most recommends his work. Those who want to admire the incredible power and lifelike quality of his sculptures as well as his grand and impressive architectural feats should book a vacation rental in Rome and discover wonders like his sculpture, the Abduction of Proserpina in the Galleria Borghese.
Based on the Latin myth of Proserpina, found in Ovid's Metamorphoses and Claudian's De Raptu Proserpinae, this sculptural group depicts Proserpina being seized by Pluto, god of the Underworld. Showing the struggle between the two that would lead to Proserpina being taken to the realm of Pluto and eventually leading to her splitting her year in two between the Underworld and Earth, this sculpture represents the mythological origin story of the changing of the seasons.
While the work can be celebrated for many things, those who witness it in person can observe one of Bernini’s most mind-blowing talents: as you walk around the piece, take in where Pluto grabs Proserpina and see for yourself how his fingers grab into her flesh as though she were a living person rather than made of stone.
Truly an extraordinary thing to behold and just one of Bernini’s great gifts that is on display in the city, this piece and his work, in general, is one more great reason to book a holiday rental in Rome today!