Illustrazioni sulla Divina commedia di Dante [in 4 portfolios] by Scaramuzza, Francesco

Makeup for blog post 3

This image depicts the second ring of the seventh circle in hell. This is where those who have committed violence against themselves reside. These souls are turned into trees and their bodies that have been discarded are hung from their branches. The picture captures the moment of the sinners dragging their bodies before they are transformed. The body motions in the picture really capture the feeling of dragging a limp body. Especially the woman whose body’s hair is tied around her neck, hanging from the neck the hair creates an image of a reverse noose giving a not so subtle hint to how she might have committed suicide. It gives an impression of how they were when they lived, struggling to move a body that just seems to have given up and refuses to cooperate, that must have been really taxing for their souls. This could have been one of the factors that have pushed them to suicide, to relieve them of their “dead” weight. For a human the body is an important piece that makes him whole and to just throw it away causes them to become less than human, and thus they are punished. Unable to re-enter their own bodies they must now accompany the sinners for eternity as truly dead weights.

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