The Abduction of Proserpine

Proserpine, the daughter of Ceres, was picking flowers, when Pluto, king of the underworld, falls in love with her and carries her away to his kingdom (Ovid, Metamorphoses, 5:385-424).

The present work is an autograph replica of the painting in the Schloss Ambras, Innsbruck. The Innsbruck painting is slightly smaller (90 x 136 cm.) and the pearl ornaments in Proserpine's hair are absent. The still-life elements of the present work were executed by Andrea Scacciati.

We are grateful to Dr. Francesca Baldassari for suggesting the attribution after physical inspection of the original.