The Abduction of Proserpine by Alessandro Allori was created in 1570. The painting is in Getty Center Los Angeles. The size of the work is 228,6 x 348 cm and is made as an oil on panel.
Pluto, god of the Underworld, seizes Proserpine, daughter of Roman goddess of agriculture and fertility, Ceres, and prepares to return with her to his kingdom on a chariot drawn by black horses. According to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Proserpine was forced to live in the underworld for four months of every year; her departure from earth marked the advent of winter, and her return brought about spring and summer. The muscular, marble-like figures illustrate the influence of Michelangelo (1475–1564) on the younger Florentine artist, while their complex, twisted poses and bright, saturated colors reflect that of his adoptive father and master, Bronzino (1503–1572)… (read more in Getty Center)
About the Artist: Italian portrait painter of the late Mannerist Florentine school Alessandro Allori was born in Florence. He trained in art by a close friend, the mannerist painter Agnolo Bronzino. Allori is the last of the line of prominent Florentine painters, of generally undiluted Tuscan artistic heritage. Subsequent generations in the city would be strongly influenced by the tide of Baroque styles pre-eminent in other parts of Italy… Read more
