The most intricate sculpture in The Metamorphoses Collection, this figurative bronze sculpture depicts the climactic moment in the myth of Persephone, when the gentle and innocent daughter of Demeter is suddenly and involuntarily married to Zeus’s powerful brother Pluto. Four months have passed since Persephone has been stolen to the Underworld by the King of the Underworld, when suddenly the young maiden returns to the Earth in a burst of autumnal oak leaves and a murder of crows, now reborn as Kore (Greek meaning “the Maiden”), the Queen of the Dead.

This explosive portrayal of Kore went through a dramatic transformation, after a well-timed brush with death in the summer of 2010, and only reached completion after a year of meticulous detailing. The beauty and the powerful omnipresence of death, as well as its natural innocence and modesty, are key aspects of this challenging contemplation piece.

THE METAMORPHOSES COLLECTION