That is Gian Lorenzo Berniniβs masterpiece, The Rape of Proserpina (aka The Abduction of Proserpina), created between 1621 and 1622 when Bernini was only 23 years old. Itβs in the Galleria Borghese in Rome.
Art historians call it Baroque drama, the mythological scene where Pluto (Hades), the god of the Underworld, abducts Proserpina (Persephone) to the realm of the dead, while Cerberusβthe three-headed houndβbarks at their feet.
In ancient myths, rape is meant to mean βto seize," "to snatch," or "to carry away by force."















