The Rape of Proserpina, Giuseppe Scolari | Mia

winged figure on horseback blowing a flaming horn accompanied by a second horse in LRQ; male figure with trident seen from back with flowing drapery around his midsection standing above a broken cart (?), holding a struggling female figure with long curly hair by the waist; embossing — The Rape of Proserpina, c. 1592-1607
Giuseppe Scolari
Woodcut
Gift of funds from Barbara S. Longfellow 2016.108.1
Not on View
This is the story of the Rape of Proserpina from Ovid’s "Metamorphosis." Pluto, god of the Underworld, saw Proserpina, daughter of Ceres, goddess of grain and agriculture, gathering flowers in a field and was seized by love and lust. He captured the young maiden on his chariot and opened a giant chasm in the earth to carry her to the Underworld. Scolari depicts the abduction as a noisy, violent spectacle. The beautiful naked maiden appears in the upper left corner helplessly struggling against the strength of Pluto, while the violent descent of Pluto’s horses into the flames of Hades takes center stage.

Giuseppe Scolari was a successful painter and printmaker, but none of his paintings are extant. His fame rests entirely on his nine surviving woodcuts, which are distinguished for their technical innovation, rich pictorial qualities, and theatrical compositions.

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Details

Title: The Rape of Proserpina
Dated: c. 1592-1607
Artist: Giuseppe Scolari
Nationality: Italian (Venice)
Artist Life: Italian (Venice), active 1592–1607
Role: Artist
Gallery: Not on View
Department: European Art
Dimension: 17 3/4 × 13 3/4 in. (45.09 × 34.93 cm) (image)18 1/8 × 14 3/16 in. (46.04 × 36.04 cm) (sheet)
Credit: Gift of funds from Barbara S. Longfellow
Accession Number: 2016.108.1
Medium: Woodcut
Country: Italy
Century: 16th-17th century
Provenance: Probably Edmond Zichy (1811-1894), Vienna; by descent to his grandson, Count Raphael Zichy, Lugt 2682, (born 1877), Budapest. Private Collection, Germany ('1980s-2016; sold to Boerner); [CG Boerner, NY, 2016; sold to Mia]
Rights: Public Domain
Classification: Prints
Object Name: Print
Catalogue Raisonne: Passavant 67, Rosand/Muraro 104B second (final) state
Wikipedia: Cite this information
Metadata: Click here to see the machine readable JSON data that underpins this page.
Curator Approved: This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

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