The Abduction of Proserpina

1631

Oil on oak panel, 84.4 × 79.5 cm · Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

One of Rembrandt’s small-figure history paintings from around the time he moved from Leiden to Amsterdam, and a rare subject in Dutch art. It was probably in the collection of the Dutch stadholder Frederik Hendrik by 1632.

Proserpina screams and claws at Pluto’s face while her companions grab at her cloak.
Bright blue sky at upper left (the earth) gives way to darkness at lower right (Pluto’s realm).
The blue is costly ultramarine, made from lapis lazuli, and is original.
Technical study shows Rembrandt first painted four horses, later reduced to two.
The design likely depends on a composition by Rubens known from an engraving.

Pluto (Greek Hades) seized Proserpina, daughter of the harvest goddess Ceres, while she gathered flowers, and carried her down to rule as his queen.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain