Pluto and Proserpine
Relief
1849 (made)
1849 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In classical mythology Proserpine was the daughter of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture. Proserpine had been collecting flowers with her female companions when Pluto, the god of the underworld, fell in love with her and seized her while she was collecting flowers with her female companions. Pluto – struck by Cupid’s arrow – carries Proserpine to the underworld where she becomes his wife.
Physick, active in the 19th century, won the Royal Academy Gold Medal in 1850 for a relief entitled The Rape of Proserpine, probably this piece. He later also exhibited the same work at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The energetic composition recalls the work of Giambologna, in particular his Rape of the Sabines, in the Piazza della Signora, in Florence, a figure group Physick would have known. He was working and studying in Italy at around 1850
Physick, active in the 19th century, won the Royal Academy Gold Medal in 1850 for a relief entitled The Rape of Proserpine, probably this piece. He later also exhibited the same work at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The energetic composition recalls the work of Giambologna, in particular his Rape of the Sabines, in the Piazza della Signora, in Florence, a figure group Physick would have known. He was working and studying in Italy at around 1850
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Pluto and Proserpine (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Cast plaster |
| Brief description | Relief, cast plaster, Pluto and Proserpine, by Edward James Physick, Britain, 1849 |
| Physical description | This relief shows a group of four lightly draped figures, three female and one male. One female lies on the ground and another is being picked up by the male. There is a flying Cupid in the background. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Presented by Belinda Physick in memory of her father, David Physick |
| Object history | Presented by Belinda Physick in memory of her father, David Physick, in 2005. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | In classical mythology Proserpine was the daughter of Ceres, the goddess of agriculture. Proserpine had been collecting flowers with her female companions when Pluto, the god of the underworld, fell in love with her and seized her while she was collecting flowers with her female companions. Pluto – struck by Cupid’s arrow – carries Proserpine to the underworld where she becomes his wife. Physick, active in the 19th century, won the Royal Academy Gold Medal in 1850 for a relief entitled The Rape of Proserpine, probably this piece. He later also exhibited the same work at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The energetic composition recalls the work of Giambologna, in particular his Rape of the Sabines, in the Piazza della Signora, in Florence, a figure group Physick would have known. He was working and studying in Italy at around 1850 |
| Bibliographic reference | Williamson, Paul, ‘Recent Acquisitions (2000-06) of sculpture at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London’, in: The Burlington Magazine, CXLVIII, December, 2006, p. 893, fig XIII |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.1-2005 |
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| Record created | February 25, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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