Proserpine Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882)

In Dante Gabriel Rossettis Proserpine, a melancholic woman with flowing dark hair and piercing green eyes is depicted in exquisite detail. She wears a luxurious, flowing teal robe that drapes elegantly around her. In her left hand, she holds a pomegranate, its seeds partially exposed, hinting at its symbolic significance. Her gaze is directed away from the viewer, conveying a sense of longing and introspection. The background features lush green foliage, contrasting with a weathered stone wall and a scroll of text inscribed with a sonnet, likely a commentary on the paintings theme.
The painting draws heavily from classical mythology, depicting Proserpine, the queen of the underworld, who was abducted by Pluto. The pomegranate is a key symbol in her myth, as eating its seeds bound her to the underworld for part of the year, thus representing her duality: her life in the underworld with Pluto and her return to the surface world with her mother, Ceres.
The subtexts of the painting explore themes of entrapment, desire, and the bittersweet nature of beauty and sensuality. Proserpines expression suggests a conflict between her forced subservience and an underlying yearning for freedom or perhaps a forbidden passion. The rich, opulent yet somber tones of the painting, coupled with the solitary figure and symbolic fruit, invite contemplation on themes of captivity, longing, and the inescapable consequences of choices, even those made under duress. The sonnet by Algernon Charles Swinburne, embedded within the artwork, further amplifies these themes, meditating on Proserpines existence in the underworld and her enduring beauty, even in darkness.