Physical description
The bearded Pluto holds Proserpina up in his arms, gripping her round the
waist. Her right arm is flung out and she is looking over her shoulder back
towards Pluto. Neither figure is clothed but a piece of drapery is wound
between their bodies and over his shoulder. Proserpina wears a crescent moon
diadem, and Pluto would have originally worn a crown.
Place of Origin
Italy (made)
Date
ca. 1565-1570 (made)
Artist/maker
de Rossi, Vincenzo, born 1525 - died 1587 (attributed to, maker)
Materials and Techniques
Bronze, cast
Dimensions
Weight: 1111 kg statue, Weight: 250 kg plinth top, Weight: 356 kg plinth
bottom, Height: 225.5 cm, Width: 160.3 cm, Depth: 120.2 cm
Object history note
The Florentine Giovan Vettorio Soderini (1527-1597) bought the work from
Peri in 1570. In 1594 it was sold to the Florentine Antonio Salviati
(1554-1619), whose family was closely associated with the Medici Grand
Dukes, by Soderini’s son Pier Tommaso. There is a drawing in the V&A of a
garden design (E.571-1975), which shows a semi-circular screen wall around a
central circular basin. In the centre of the courtyard is a fountain – atop
which is the Pluto and Proserpina group (but without Cerberus – indicating
again that it never formed part of the final sculpture). The drawing has now
been attributed to Gherardo Silvani and dated c. 1653 by Bostrom. Silvani
completed this drawing and many others for Salviati, as can be seen from the
coats of arms depicted, and this design was most likely for his residence in
Florence as the scale used is in Florentine braccia (equivalent to
approximately 59cm).
The Salviati residence had by 1819 been passed down through marriage and
descent to Prince Camillo Borghese (1775-1832), of the Borghese Aldobrandini
family. Many alterations were made to the building at this time by Giovanni
Baccani, however it is unclear if any changes were made to the gardens.
There is no record of the Pluto and Proserpina group until it was bought by
the future 1st Viscount Astor in 1896 and brought to Cliveden House. The 2nd
Viscount Astor gave the house and sculpture to the National Trust in 1942.
Having been outside for over four hundred years had led to adverse effects
on the condition of the group. The National Trust decided to move the group
inside to protect it from further deterioration and replace it with a
replica outside. The group was removed for conservation in 1989, following
which it was decided to place it on long-term loan in the Museum, putting a
bronze cast in its place.
Historical significance: Antonia Boström’s two articles in the Burlington
(1990 and 1998) go into detail regarding the history and movements of this
object, as well as discussing the attribution to Raffaello Peri, who was an
assistant of, and may have used a model by, Vincenzo de’ Rossi. The
sculpture was once attributed to Giambologna, although there is no
documentary evidence for this. The static style of the piece, together with
the single viewpoint and the bulky nature of the figures (among other
stylistic differences), suggest a closer association with Florentine
sculptors of the 1560s and 1570s. Boström compared this piece with works by
de’ Rossi, most importantly with a stylistically similar marble group of
Paris and Helen (in the Grotto in the Boboli Gardens). The hair, flesh and
drapery are all treated in a very similar way, as are the facial expressions
and the poses of the bodies.
A small bronze group of Pluto and Proserpina in the Bargello in Florence is
stylistically similar to the large group. However, because of the sketchy
nature of the piece, it could either have been a copy after the full-scale
version or a preparatory model. As this small-scale group could not be
firmly attributed to one artist, the authorship of the whole group was
initially left open to discussion.
However, a recently discovered document dated 31 May 1570 makes it more
certain that the sculptor was Peri. The document describes the sale of the
group to Giovan Vettorio Soderini from an agent acting on behalf of Peri.
The document describes Peri as both a sculptor (suggesting artistic
responsibility) but also as ‘Maestro Raffaeollo fabbricatore di esse statue’
which implies a less important role in the making. A date for the sculpture
of c.1565, previously assigned by Boström, still stands.
Pluto, in Greek mythology known as Hades, is the God of the Underworld.
There are few myths about him, the main one being his marriage to Proserpina
(Persephone in the Greek myth), daughter of Ceres, the Roman goddess of
spring and plenty (identified with Greek goddess Demeter). According to
Ovid, having been struck by Cupid’s arrow, Pluto saw Proserpina and carried
her away to the underworld. In this sculpture, Proserpina is shown with a
crescent moon diadem, associating her with the Goddess Diana with whom
Proserpina is sometimes identified.
The contents of the 1570 document also make clear that Pluto’s many-headed
dog, Cerberus, was not part of the original composition – despite it’s
presence in the small scale version in the Bargello.
Historical context note
Unfortunately there is no documentary evidence as to who commissioned this
group, and where it was meant to be placed.
Giovan Vettorio Soderini was well known for his architectural and botanical
treatises, the most well known of which is the Trattato della Coltivazione
delle Viti e del frutto che se ne puó cavare, published posthumously in
1600. His properties in Florence were well known for their botanical
gardens, and he was also apparently an accomplished amateur architect
designing fortified villas, fountains, a casino and a villa. He was very
interested in the inclusion of sculpture in garden designs, both
free-standing but also as part of fountains. It is most likely these
interests that led him to purchase this work. Boström writes that Soderini,
in his Trattato degli Alberi, recommends that water should travel through
canals in the garden before emptying into a great fishpond with a large
statue in the centre which would take up the water and shoot it out on all
sides. He also wrote in this treatise that water is "the soul of cities and
gardens [anima delle ville e degli orti]".
He had close links with the Medici family through his wife, Maria del
Senatore Leone de’ Nerli, whose paternal grandmother was a sister of Maria
Salviati, mother of Cosimo I. For a full discussion of Soderini’s life and a
bibliography, see D.M. Manni’s La Vita a Giovan Vettorio Soderini (Florence,
1878).
As can be seen from the V&A’s drawing for the Salviati garden, the group was
intended to be part of a fountain. At Cliveden House, it stood on a stone
plinth in the parterre (ornamental flower garden) at the end of the formal
garden behind the house.
Descriptive line
Pluto & Proserpina, attributed to Vincenzo de' Rossi, ca. 1565-1570, Bronze,
Italian
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL
no)
Boström, A. 'A Bronze Group of the Rape of Proserpina at Cliveden House in
Buckinghamshire' The Burlington Magazine December 1990, CXXXII, no. 1053.
pp829-840
Boström, A. 'The Florentine Sculptor Raffaello Peri' The Burlington Magazine
Shorter Notice, April 1998, CXL, no. 1141. pp263-4
Labels and date
Having been struck by Cupid's arrow, Pluto, the God of the Underworld,
caught sight of Proserpina picking flowers in a meadow. Immediately inflamed
with love, he carried her off to his kingdom (Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 5,
385-424). Pluto would have originally worn a crown. Proserpina wears a
crescent moon diadem, a symbol primarily associated with the goddess Diana,
with whom Proserpina is identified in some sources.
A document of 31 May 1570 records the sale of the group by Rafaello Peri,
who cast it, to the Florentine Giovan Vettorio Soderini (1527-97), who was
famous for his botanical and agricultural treatises. In 1594 it was sold to
Antonio Salviati, whose family were closely associated with the Medici Grand
Dukes of Tuscany. The group remained at the Salviati casino until at least
1819, and features in a 17th century design associated with the garden. The
palace later passed through marriage and descent to Prince Camillo Borghese
(1775-1832). The Rape of Proserpina was acquired with other sculpture from
the Borghese family in 1896 by the future 1st Viscount Astor, the American
collector and connoisseur, who brought it to Cliveden House,
Buckinghamshire, his adopted home in England. The 2nd Viscount Astor gave
Cliveden and its sculpture to the National Trust in 1942. The group was
removed for conservation in 1989, following which it was decided to place it
on long-term loan in the Museum, putting a bronze cast in its place.
Raffaello Peri is twice recorded in 1565 as working with Vincenzo de' Rossi,
one of the leading Florentine sculptors of the the mid-sixteenth century,
but his activities are otherwise unknown. De' Rossi worked for several years
in Rome before returning to Florence in 1560, where he was employed by the
Medici Grand Dukes. His most notable works from this period are the over
life-size marble groups of Hercules and Nessus and Hercules and Cacus
(Palazzo Vecchio, Florence). The group was cast in one piece, as described
in contemporary treatises, but still a difficult technical achievement at
that time for such a large sculpture.