Rembrandt van Rijn, "The Abduction of Proserpina" c. 1630, 83 x 78 cm. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

The beginning of Fall always provides an apt reminder of  the Greek myth of Persephone  (as the Romans called her “Proserpine, or Proserpina”), whose fateful tale became an explanation for the change in seasons during ancient times.

Persephone was a big deal from the start- she was  borne from the union of two A-listers, her father was Zeus, almighty Ruler of the Universe, her mother was Demeter, literally (Earth-Mother in Greek), who controlled the seasons and brought growth to the land. Demeter’s doting love for her daughter was strong. As she blossomed into a woman, Demeter sent Persephone off to a hidden land, so as to keep her at a distance from the advances of her immortal suitors.

This, however, paved the way for a nightmarish scenario. Hades, immortal outcast and dark lord of the Afterlife, was not one for conventional chivalry. On one fateful afternoon, Persephone and her nymph followers  found themselves rudely interrupted during some peaceful flower picking around the province of Enna . Hades burst through a crack in the Earth’s surface, abducted Persephone, and brought her back to the Underworld as his wife.

Demeter mourned, and searched high and low for her lost daughter. She soon grew bitter, losing any sense of benevolence and purpose, and all growth on Earth soon withered. With crops dying, and people starving, Zeus had to do something. He ordered Hades to return Persephone.

Hades was subject to Zeus’ demand, yet he was conniving enough to find a loophole. Knowing that those who dine in his realm are forever bound to it, Hades persuaded Persephone into eating the seeds of a pomegranate.

Since then, Persephone has to return to Hades for a few months every year. This is what causes our change in seasons.  When Persephone departs, Demeter closes herself off.  Things cease to grow, and the Winter arrives.  When Persephone returns in the Spring, things are reborn and the lush life returns.

In the course of this cycle, Fall would seem to take on a foreboding quality. It becomes a fledgling preface to darkness, one that is captured beautifully by Rembrandt, in his depiction of Persephone’s abduction. His rich palette of green, amber, white, and brown is indulgent, yet sobered by the somber tone of his masterful Realism.

Here is a trademark exercise in the Baroque-a rendering of an allegorical moment which removes its distance from the earthly. Rembrandt’s characters resonate with the viewer because they exist in the here and now. We can see the terror in the expressions of Persephone and her circle, who desperately struggle to stave off her impending doom, as the unfeeling Hades drags her onward into the dark abyss.

Fall, of course, is far from being that melancholy. In today’s world, some might consider it to be the real season of rebirth after the slow pace of the Summer doldrums-a celebration of refocused ambition and purpose that is as invigorating as it is brief. Classes start, new jobs begin, gallery openings are flooded. The air is as crisp as the latest clothing being debuted.

Can we then find any relevance to this moment in Rembrandt’s work  here? Perhaps it lies in his subtle mix of green and brown in the surrounding landscape. While far removed from the electric hues of Autumn foliage in its prime, it captures what makes this season so alluring–a short and delicate moment of transition between life and death.