Persephone in Gold

About this work

Everything leads down to her hands. Persephone's lowered gaze, the tilt of her head and the curve of her arms all converge on the split pomegranate, whose red interior is the most intense colour in the picture. Above, her hair is crowned with red and cream roses and dark leaves, a softer echo of that red. Down the left side a cascade of deep red roses, dark vines and more pomegranates spills towards the bottom, heavy and lush, so the figure seems half wrapped in a garden. A dark red cloak lies over her white robes, and gold leaf details add small points of light along the drapery. Close up, the contrast between cool marble and warm crimson is striking; from a distance the figure becomes a pale, quiet shape framed in red, beautiful and a little melancholy.

Persephone's story is the Greek myth of the seasons. Daughter of Demeter, goddess of the harvest, she was carried off by Hades to the underworld, and while her mother grieved and searched for her, nothing grew on earth. Zeus finally ordered her return, but she had eaten pomegranate seeds in the realm of the dead, and in the myth whoever tasted food there was bound to it; the number of seeds varies between tellings. The answer was a divided year, part spent below with Hades, when the fields lie bare, and part above with her mother, when crops and flowers return. Mother and daughter were honoured together in the Eleusinian Mysteries at Eleusis, near Athens.

Next to Medusa in Gold it makes a striking pair, two women of myth on black, one lit by red, the other by veins of gold. For a jewel-toned wall, The Deco Peacock adds emerald and teal to her crimson. Deep burgundy, forest green, charcoal and black walls make the roses glow, while a pale wall turns the black background into a bold frame of its own. A black or dark walnut frame suits the rich colours; for a softer look, add a cream mat of five centimetres. Warm, low light in the evening brings out the gold. Printed from the 7168 × 10752 px file, it stays sharp to about 60 × 90 cm on the wall. A Frame TV version with a gallery mat comes included.