The thing I enjoyed most about reading The Inferno is Dante's extraordinary ability to create pictures with words. A longing for visual gratification accompanied each canto, and I constantly found myself searching for pictures to help me assimilate the plethora of imagery taxing my imagination. Reading Dante's poem was like gorging on a sumptuous feast...each course richer than the next.
When I received this assignment, I knew right away that I wanted to explore artwork inspired by Inferno. Through my many deviations while doing the readings, I had already become familiar with the acclaimed works of such artists as Botticelli, Doré and Blake...renditions of Dante's poem hundreds of years old. It wasn't until I spoke with a librarian several weeks ago that I became aware of the caveat my task contained. I'd decided to find modern day depictions of the nine circles of Hell; however, the researcher quickly informed me that "Dante isn't relevant" with modern day artists - that I should stick with Pre-Raphaelites. The directions for this project explicitly call for contemporary works so, slightly deflated but undaunted, I decided to persevere and briefly visit the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, but only as a starting point on my journey to discover whether or not Dante is still relevant with today's artists.
My efforts led me to a sub-culture of artists who have paid homage to Dante. I have chosen seven modern day works that had a particular impact upon me. The links to the left will lead to those choices.
A Little Backstory...The Pre-Raphaelites
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was formed by Dante Gabriel Rosetti William Holman, and John Everett Millais, a group of young British painters who banded together in 1848 in protest against what they perceived to be the unimaginative and artificial historical painting of the Royal Academy. The artists sought to express a new moral seriousness and sincerity in their works. Their choice of the name Pre-Raphaelite was an expression of their admiration for the uncomplicated depiction of nature typically found in Italian art of the 14th and 15th centuries before the time of Raphael.
The Brotherhood strove to revive "the deep religious feeling and naive, unadorned directness of 15th-century Florentine painting" through a style that featured "sharp and brilliant lighting, a clear atmosphere, and a near-photographic reproduction of minute details." Many of the themes they chose to depict were controversial for their time and centered on problematic subjects such as "poverty, emigration, prostitution and the double standard of sexual morality in society." Their pictures were so encoded with signs and symbols, it often required hard work to decipher them.
Over the course of five years, the Brotherhood produced highly significant works. Through their depictions of religious and medieval subjects, they strove to revive the deep religious feeling and naïve directness of 15th-century Florentine painting. Hunt and Millais' styles featured sharp, brilliant lighting, a clear atmosphere, and a pristine reproduction of minute details. Their art frequently contained poetic symbolism representative of biblical subjects and medieval literary themes.
The Pre-Raphaelites and other artists in the late 19th century were fascinated with Dante's Inferno. This begs the question: why do artists love depicting Dante's hell scenes? Might it be because of the powerful visual terms in which the poem is described?
Works Cited:
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