PLUTO:
is the god of the Underworld. He is helped by numerous creatures including: Charon, who ferries souls to the Underworld, and Cerberus, the monstrous three-headed dog who watches over the entrance to the kingdom. In pictorial and sculptural representations he was often depicted as a mature man, with a stern gaze, bearded, with thick hair and holding a scepter, or keys, or earth in his hand; he is often seated on an ebony throne and with Cerberus, the three-headed dog, or snakes at his feet; or on a chariot drawn by four black horses.
Famous is "The Rape of Proserpina": Proserpina was the daughter of Ceres; kidnapped by Pluto while picking flowers and dragged on his chariot. There she became the bride of Pluto and queen of the Underworld. After her mother asked Jupiter to release her, she was able to return to the surface, provided she spent six months of the year still with Pluto. Ceres brought down the cold and frost during the months in which her daughter was absent as a sign of pain, to then awaken nature for Proserpina's return to earth.
In the work, the Carrara marble base recalls the purity of his wife Proserpina, goddess of spring; the sculpture continues in a contortion of drapery at the base reminiscent of the river Styx on which Charon ferries souls into the underworld; to climb steel souls beaten by the life they lived seem to want to leave these Dante circles without succeeding, because they are now trapped forever.