Ally K. Merchan

Dante’s Divine Comedy

Professor Porcelli

May 24, 2019

Beatrice and her divine love

            Throughout the Inferno, two of the most important characters to Dante Alighieri was his beloved Beatrice and his trustworthy guide Virgil. In canto 2, Virgil is sent by Dante’s adored Beatrice to accompany him on his journey to the underworld. Since she is in heaven, she cannot accompany Dante through hell; she believes that Virgil will be a very honorable guide for Dante. Beatrice believes that Dante needs a dependable guide to help him through this journey because Dante feels unworthy of this journey. Virgil is the perfect fit since he also reassures and helps Dante whenever he needs. He serves as both a motherly and father figure. Beatrice is also shown as a motherly figure later in the Divine Comedy since she tends to scold him and make sure he is always okay. Moreover, Giovanni Stradano and Gustave Dorè both created visual works of art representing the same scene of Virgil and Beatrice in the Divine Comedy. Dante casts Beatrice as the representation of divine love in Inferno. She is sent by God and depicted as heavenly in both paintings. The most accurate representation of Virgil and Beatrice in canto 2 is the painting by Giovanni Stradano.

Johannes Stradanus (Jan van der Straet) was a Flemish painter who lived from 1523-1605. He is not a well-known artist, but he has created many artworks in the second half of the 16^thcentury. Giovanni settled in Italy in 1545 where he worked in Florence for the rest of his career (Stradanus).  He is best known in Italy as Giovanni Stradano. He worked with the Medici family frequently. He created over 130 cartoons for the Arazzeria Medicea, which was a tapestry factory that was founded by Duke Cosimo de Medici in 1557. He also painted many altarpieces for Florentine churches remodeled by Vasari and later in 1564 he contributed to the tomb decoration of famous painter and sculptor Michelangelo.  Additionally, after 1578, Stradano began creating engravings and produced countless drawings that later became translated into prints. He had a “second career as a draughtsman and designer of hundreds of prints. There were engraved, published, and distributed all over the then-known world by Antwerp publishers in huge numbers” (Painting). All of these works were widely spread, collected and became popular which made him earn his place in art history an innovative and influential artist.

Paul-Gustave Dorè was a French illustrator who was born on January 6, 1832 and died on January 23, 1883 Paris France. He never got married and lived his entire life with his mother. Nonetheless, Dorè had a very successful career. Gustave has produced over 90 wood engraved illustrated books in his lifetime; this produced countless jobs for wood cutters in the late 18^thcentury. He is famously known for his artwork in the Bible and Dante’s Divine Comedy. His black and white painting were characterized with such fine detail, technical mastery and the realist depictions of humans as well as fantasy creature (Artstor).  “It is based on a Christian view of the afterlife but is enhanced by Dante’s preternatural vision of the other world. His depiction of the horrors and tortures of Hell are particularly vivid, and Dore’s illustrations are a fitting companion to Dante’s great work” (Artsor).

This painting of Beatrice and Virgil was made in 1587 by Giovanni Stradano. When first looking at this painting you notice that it looks older due to the colors used. Stradano mostly used black, orange, and a hint of white for this painting. The faces of both Beatrice and Virgil are not as detailed as everything else in the photograph. The background looks like the outside castle and gates of the city Dis since this is only the second canto. It may also be from the outside gates of hell since there are visible orange flames behind the back right. Beatrice is floating in the air like an angel sent from above. She has a white outside glow that outlines her entire body and makes her look godlier. Stradano made her like this to emphasize her heavenly sense and represent her love. Since she is coming to tell Virgil to take care of her treasured Dante. Beatrice is wearing a leaf crown around her head along with a robe that has a sash across her chest.  Virgil is looking up at her while also wearing a leaf crown and robe with a sash across his chest that says his name on it. He has a confused look on his face like Beatrice caught him off guard since he has his right hand up. Beatrice has her hand down almost pointing to Virgil. Moreover, they are surrounded by grassland and a little blurb right above their heads. It appears to be two young women that look like Beatrice’s handmaidens.  The handmaidens look like Rachel and Lucia. This is very similar to the Inferno. In lines 97-105

She called Lucia in her request and said: — Now

your faithful one has need of you, and I put him in

your hands—

Lucia, enemy of all cruelty, moved and came to

the place where I was sitting with the ancient Rachel.

She said: — Beatrice, true praise of God, why do

you not help him who loved you so, who because of

you came forth from the common herd.

The feelings and emotions that are associated with this painting is reassurance along with confusion. Since the colors in the painting are dull, one doesn’t sense happiness. The confusion comes from the look of Virgil’s face because he doesn’t seem to know her or what is going on.

Dorè’s painting of Virgil and Beatrice made in 1857 and was all painted in black in white. Beatrice has a glowing circle around herself and especially over her head. It almost appears as a sun behind her. This is another representation of her godly self since she is the only one with light behind her. There are thin fine lines surrounding her entire body which emphasizes the fact that she is holy, godly, and heavenly. The light also serves as an allegorical representation of purity which Beatrice is.  She is pointing on to the sky to the far left right, likeshe is telling Virgil that he should head in this direction. You can see her petite figure through this dress/robe she is wearing, and it looks like she is holding the end of her dress with her right hand. When looking at this painting it looks like Beatrice has long dark hair with her hair parted in the middle. Her facial expression looks serious but also attentive. Virgil’s face is not seen in this painting, but he is also wearing a leaf crown with a thick and long robe around him. Virgil appears to be pointing to Beatrice while his other hand is holding his robe. One cannot tell what Virgil’s facial expression is since it cannot be seen. Furthermore, the background looks like an abandoned forest with big trees. Beatrice and Virgil are talking to one another in the grass.  Additionally, the feelings and emotions one senses while looking at this painting is melancholy along with reassurance. Since the colors are black and white, there isn’t much happy emotion in the painting. Beatrice’s face is in between both sad and happy since she isn’t smiling or frowning.

Dorè’s painting of Virgil and Beatrice made in 1857 and was all painted in black in white. Beatrice has a glowing circle around herself and especially over her head. In lines 58-67 of canto 2, Beatrice says

O courteous Mantuan soul, whose fame still lasts

in the world and will last as far as the world will go,

my friend, not the friend of fortune, on the

deserted shore is so blocked in his journey that he

has turned back for fear;

and I am afraid that he may be already so lost

that I have risen too late to help him, according to

what I have heard of him in Heaven

It almost appears as a sun behind her. This is another representation of her godly self since she is the only one with light behind her. There are thin fine lines surrounding her entire body which emphasizes the fact that she is holy, godly, and heavenly. The light also serves as an allegorical representation of purity which Beatrice is.  She is pointing on to the sky to the far left right, like she is telling Virgil that he should head in this direction. You can see her petite figure through this dress/robe she is wearing, and it looks like she is holding the end of her dress with her right hand. When looking at this painting it looks like Beatrice has long dark hair with her hair parted in the middle. Her facial expression looks serious but also attentive. Virgil’s face is not seen in this painting, but he is also wearing a leaf crown with a thick and long robe around him. Virgil appears to be pointing to Beatrice while his other hand is holding his robe. One cannot tell what Virgil’s facial expression is since it cannot be seen. Furthermore, the background looks like an abandoned forest with big trees. Beatrice and Virgil are talking to one another in the grass. Additionally, the feelings and emotions one senses while looking at this painting is melancholy along with reassurance. Since the colors are black and white, there isn’t much happy emotion in the painting. Beatrice’s face is in between both sad and happy since she isn’t smiling or frowning.

The two painting were made almost three hundred years apart which explains why they were made this way. Giovanni Stradano made his painting during the Renaissance period which clarifies why some of the painting is dark. During this the Renaissance, many things were occurring in Italy. There were countless developments in philosophy, literature, music, art and science. He also used a dull color scheme which was popular during this time period. “Renaissance art showed the world around it that art could be used to show emotion in people as well. Additionally, painters using different shading techniques and color patterns, you could be able to showcase the mood of any setting” (Nix).  Moreover, art during the eighteenth century was based on realism/naturalism and impressionism. These are some of the methods Gustave used for his paintings. He used realism to capture the most romantic movement in his painting which was when he painted Beatrice. Impressionist art was a style pf painting that mostly French artists used. Gustave used this when he captured the image of both characters; people would see it as soon as they catch a glimpse of it. However, he didn’t use a lot of color but did include an outdoor scene.

Beatrice and Virgil painted by Giovanni Stradano is the painting that is most similar to episode 2 in the Inferno. His painting is the only one that includes the handmaidens Lucia and Rachel in a blurb above them, exactly like canto 2. The setting of this place is dark just as described in the episode. In lines 1- 3 Dante describes the setting “The day was departing, and the darkened air was releasing all living creatures on the earth from their toils; and I alone…” The entire background of the painting are dark colors associated with the color orange. Beatrice is very heavenly, and she does represent divine love as shown in the Divine Comedy. She is symbolic of the spiritual love that a benevolent God has for us. She is the bright light that Dante wanders through hell in search of. She is his salvation.

Works Cited

Alighieri, Dante, et al. The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri. Oxford University Press, 2011.

Artstor. “Artstor.” Library.artstor.org, library.artstor.org/#/collection/87729441.

“Jan Van Der Straet (Stradanus).” Jan Van Der Straet (Stradanus) Biography – Jan Van Der       Straet (Stradanus) on Artnet, stradanus/biography.

Nix, Cameron. “Renaissance Art Changing Society.” Prezi.com, 14 Sept. 2012,     prezi.com/k7kjcfmhdndf/renaissance-art-changing-society/.

“Painting & Artists Inspired by Dante Alighieri’s Inferno.” Florence Inferno, 24 Mar. 2015,         www.florenceinferno.com/artworks/.

Stradanus (1523-1605), Court Artist of the Medici,  Brepols Publishers: Publication Detail,         www.brepols.net/Pages/ShowProduct.aspx?prod_id=IS-

The World of Dante, www.worldofdante.org/gallery_dore.html.

Marzena Rammairone

The Divine Comedy in English

Prof. Stefania Porcelli

The analysis of two images of Satan (by Sandro Botticelli and Salvador Dalí) inspired by canto XXXIV of Inferno in Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.

The Middle Ages played a significant role in the development of the image of Satan by his widespread depiction in various forms of art, making the image not only visual and realistic but also more widespread and omnipresent. The way mainstream Christians dealt with the idea of the Satan was influenced by how Christian writings and art has depicted the fallen angel. A combination of medieval folklore and literature, such as Dante’s Divine Comedy (Inferno) but also John Milton’s Paradise Lost, and Goethe’s Faust were contributory in influencing the public’s portrayal of Lucifer as a super villain, lawbreaker and utter wrongdoer in fictional texts. From the tenth century onwards, for at least half a millennium, Christianity viewed the Devil as a real thing, who existed everywhere.[1] Dante Alighieri gave a thorough description of Satan in the last canto of Inferno, which later inspired many artists, such as Sandro Botticelli or Salvatore Dali. They created paintings, illustrations and sculptures of Lucifer that generated a wide range of emotions such as: fear, consternation or even anxiety. But does Dante’s “emperor of the dolorous kingdom”[2] bring about those kinds of emotions and reactions. In my opinion he doesn’t. Quite the contrary, I suppose.

Dante’s Inferno, first part of his epic The Divine Comedy, presents Satan who, as an adversary to God, is incapacitated and confined to the pits of hell. This reflects the view on the Devil at the time, where he was often featured in medieval plays and cycles as more comedic relief and the “loser” against God.[3]

Throughout the journey through hell, it is repeatedly implied that at the end Dante will meet Satan. However, the meeting with Satan is rather anticlimactic. Instead of the clever, cunning and “tempting” Satan the modern reader is used to, the Satan shown here is nothing more than a voiceless beast. While in appearance he is certainly horrifying, there is nothing threatening about his personality. Although the reader expects Dante’s encounter with Lucifer to go beyond sadness, anguish, despair and growing cruelty, in fact, is up for a big surprise or even disappointment.

First of all, although the physical appearance of the fallen angel might look terrifying end extremely bestial at first glance, it doesn’t seem so scary after more thorough observation. Lucifer is completely isolated, trapped in a frozen lake of Cocytus from the waist down (hell being a place of darkness and ice contradicts the popular idea that it was a place of fire). He has three gigantic heads with three faces of different colors (yellow – impotence, red – ignorance, black – hate), which mirror the Trinity. As Teodolinda Barollini described it: “In spiritual terms, Lucifer is the antithesis of the Divine Trinity: Lucifer spirates death where the Trinity spirates love.”[4] He moves his enormous bat wings bringing about freezing wind that keeps the ice from melting.

Besides, “the king” of hell, although repulsive and frightful, is completely immobile, confined like a prisoner. He performs several functions, in a very mechanical and repetitive way, that make him look more like a robot that a scary monster. He mechanically bats his wings and continuously munches on three damned souls (Judas Iscariot, Brutus and Cassius). The bloody tears that come out of his monstrous eyes also seem robotic because there is no emotion to be seen in his face (or faces in this case). Lucifer is “inanimate”, without soul, but he moves, bats his wings, drools, and chews[5]. The repetitive and ongoing movement makes Lucifer extremely predictable, monotonous but also powerless. It is obvious that he is nothing but an instrument operated by God’s hands. Lucifer is completely mute, unable to express himself in any way. He is deprived of any voice, emotion or reaction. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that Dante Alighieri presents a Satan who “appears more pathetic than terrifying.”[6]

Dante’s inspired works were very influential in visually creating the idea of a Satan in peoples’ minds. But the question remains how Dante’s depiction of a commonly feared creature inspired some artists and how accurate they were in portraying him themselves.

Sandro Botticelli (Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi (c. 1445 – May 17, 1510) was an Italian painter who belonged to the Florentine School under the patronage of Lorenzo de’ Medici. He painted a wide range of religious subjects and also portraits. Sandro Botticelli began illustrating Dante’s Divine Comedy at the request of Lorenzo di Pier Francesco di Medici around 1490. Botticelli created 92 drawings for Divine Comedy, which “have been admired for their beauty and for their sensitive and faithful adaptation of the text.”[7] Without a doubt, they are considered masterpieces and amongst the best works of the painter. Of an initial project of 100 drawings, one for each canto of the Comedy, 92 are survived, which are currently divided between the Vatican Library (7 drawings) and the Staatliche Berlin Museum (85 drawings.).[8]

In the beginning each drawing was made with a metal point, mostly silver. It usually left clearly defined outlines if used on prepared surfaces, but Botticelli used it on vellum, which left a fainter mark. The next stage was to go over these lines with a pen and two different types of ink were used: light brown or brown iron-gall. When the miniature design was finished, a first gray-brown layer was passed through the brush, and then the image was colored.[9]

Botticelli created an illustration of Lucifer and also shed light on his geographical position in Hell.

Satan and traitors to benefactors

Source: Zeichnungen von Sandro Botticelli zu Dantes Göttlicher Komödie ; verkleinerte Nachbildungen der Originale im Kupferstich-Kabinett zu Berlin und in der Bibliothek des Vatikans ; mit einer Einleitung und der Erklärung der Darstellungg hrsg. von F. Lippermann. Berlin: G. Grote, 1921.

http://www.worldofdante.org/pop_up_query.php?dbid=I132&show=more

Botticelli is very thorough and detail oriented in his illustration. The artist passionately follows word for word the text reproducing what was Dante’s vision on Satan. Lucifer is pictured here with three heads (and three faces for that matter, which don’t have three different colors as Dante described it in Canto XXXIV), connected by the shoulders with six giant bat’s wing. The right wing seems to be undefined and the semicircle on the bottom of the page stands for the boreal hemisphere.

The middle head of Lucifer is gnawing on Judas Iscariot (notorious for betraying Jesus Christ) while his enormous claws grab hold of a punished sinner. That detail closely follows Dante’s description.

“In each of his mouth he was breaking a sinner

with his teeth in the manner of a scotch, so that he

made three suffer at once.

to the one in front the biting was nothing next to

the clawing, for at times the spine remained all

naked of skin.” (Divine Comedy, Canto XXXIV, 55-60)

Two remaining heads on the side crunch the legs of Cassius and Brutus who are being punished for the assassination of Julius Caesar, the founder of the Roman Empire. The image of Lucifer depicted by Botticelli and strongly inspired by Dante’s description strikes me to be frightening and repulsive. The fact that its body is covered with something that seems to be fur adds to its animalistic and monstrous look.

Another image of Satan that I chose to analyze is A Logician Devil – an illustration of Lucifer created by Salvador Dalí in 1951 for Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. The painting is done by the woodcut engraving technique.

A logician Devil created by Salvador Dalí in 1951

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Logician_Devil

Later, in 1957, the Italian government commissioned Salvador Dalí to create a hundred watercolors to illustrate Dante’s Divine Comedy, to coincide with the 700th anniversary of the famed poet’s birth.

It is apparent that Dalí’s interpretation of Lucifer differs from Dante’s description in Canto XXXIV. First of all Dalí’s prince of darkness is not a three headed creature that is chomping on three sinners like Dante’s. It does however gnaw on someone that seems to be Judas. Second of all, it is not placed in the frozen lake of Cocytus but rather in a muddy river. There are trees growing behind him, that implies rather warm climate oppose to icy cold and bitter surrounding presented in Inferno.

What is more the Satan created by Dali is lacking wings and colossal dimensions but has a bone-like structure projecting from his skull (which is not portrayed in Dante’s description), which cracks his skull from the front to the back.

And last but not least Dali’s Satan looks more like a worn out, debilitated and depleted humanlike creature instead of a robotic monster performing repeated actions. It seems lifeless and still and the only act of mobility that can be spotted in the whole image is actually Dante and Virgil trying to get past him.

When we think of Satan as the king of darkness, our minds get filled with images of a monstrous satanic figure other beastly devils that roam around torturing punished sinners, who in turn cry out with never ending pain, regret and no hope. The same emotions are generated when we look at many popular works of art that portray that infamous figure. That perception of the fallen angel changes when we read Inferno, the last canto in particular, where Dante Alighieri describes in detail the emperor of a dolorous kingdom. That description became an inspiration for numerous artists to portray Lucifer. Some of them are more accurate than others taking many details from Dante’s text into consideration. There is probably no right approach to illustrate Dante’s Divine Comedy and the images he created and presented  using a written word. But without a shadow of a doubt, in the first two centuries of the book’s history alone, there were many outstanding illustrators that changed Dante’s word into an image. I truly believe that in the years to follow, many more artists will be added to that group.

[1] Wernick, Robert. “Who the Devil Is the Devil?” Smithsonian, 30.7, Oct, 1999, p.2

[2] Alighieri, Dante, Edited and Translated by Robert M. Durling, The Divine Comedy, Volume I, Inferno, Oxford University Press, New York 1996 p.535

[3] Poole, W. Scott. “Satan in America: The Devil We Know”. 2009. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, p.10

[4] https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/inferno/inferno-34/

[5] https://digitaldante.columbia.edu/dante/divine-comedy/inferno/inferno-34/

[6] Russell, Jeffrey Burton, The Devil : perceptions of evil from antiquity to primitive Christianity, Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 1977, p.97

[7] Watts, Barbara J. (1995). “Sandro Botticelli’s Drawings for Dante’s “Inferno”: Narrative Structure, Topography, and Manuscript Design”, p.164

[8] Marmor, M.From Purgatory to the “Primavera”: some observations on Botticelli and Dante, Atibus et Historiae, vol. 24, 2003, pp. 199-212

[9] Oltrogge D., Fush R. and Hahn O.,Finito and No finite drawing and painting techniques in Botticelli’s Divine Comedy, in Sandro Botticelli: The Drawings for Dante’s Divine Comedy, 2000

Edmund Burke suggested that the unpleasant experiences evoked from art can affect an individual in a positive meaningful way. These experiences, although are not what individuals normally want to feel, are necessary to bring about clarity and goodwill. And I believe that this is true and can be explained in relation to Gustave Doré’s paintings Charon, Ferryman of the Dead and Satan for these painting illustrate the means to bring the individual enlightenment. Using Burke’s formulation I can better explain how these two painting’s effects bring about positive change.

To better understand Burke’s idea of the sublime and beautiful, and how these effects bring about positive change. He introduces his concept of the “Curiosity” as a means to have the mind enter a state of interest in relation to art, “the simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind, is Curiosity, I mean whatever desire we have for, or whatever pleasure we take in novelty” (Burke 454).  He explains this state or mode is an integral part of being attracted to the object, for its new, original, or unusual. He contemplates how children go about their world in search of what interest their tastes. There is eagerness to their pursuit of knowledge, and every new detail engages their attention. This is possible because at this stage of life everything is new to them. There is a sense of novelty in which children see the world around them (Burke 454). This “Curiosity” is often accompanied by emotions that cause disorder in the mind, and to an extent, the ability to view the object in ever –changing ways:

But as those things which engage us merely by their novelty, cannot attach us for any                   length of time, curiosity is the most superficial of all the affections; it changes its objects               perpetually; it has appetite which is very sharp, but very easily satisfied; and it has always            an appearance of giddiness, restlessness and anxiety. (Burke 454).

This state of childlike curiosity is fleeting and momentarily, but has powers and passions that has a place in the stepping stones to achieve the kind of experiences that enlighten the soul, “Some degree of novelty must be one of the materials in every instrument which works upon the mind; and curiosity blends itself more or less will all our passions” (Burke 454).

Burke has an interesting notion about pain and pleasure, and it’s inner workings to how individuals perceive about the meaning pleasure and pain, and the difference between them, “For my part I am rather inclined to imagine, that pain and pleasure in their most simple and naturally manner of affecting, are each of a positive nature, and by no means necessarily dependent on each other for their existence” (Burke 454). He rebukes the notion of what others might be considered to be “pain” and “pleasure”, which is the absence of pain and lessening discomfort or agony. According to Burke, pain and pleasure have their own simple definitions of their own and are not dependent on each other. Thus he introduces a concept of a clean mental slate, neither pain nor pleasure: “state of indifference”. These feelings are innate and are evoked by certain actions. Burke claims that when a person is introduced pleasure it is easier to be aware of the things that enabled said pleasure. By succumbing to this state your senses are dialed to ten and you’re able to fully notice the object as a whole. Furthermore, Burke continues to reiterate that pain and pleasure have their own meaning and either of those states will subside and come back to the state of indifference:

Pleasure, when it has run its career, sets us down very nearly where it found us. Pleasure of         every kind quickly satisfies; and when it is over, we relapse into indifference, or rather we fall       into a soft tranquility, which is tinged with the agreeable colour of the former sensation.               (Burke 456)

It’s essential to understand that art has the potential to change a person perception by means of constant recurring state of indifference. With every new object, individuals have the opportunity to experience newer concepts of their reality.

It’s important to note that Burke recognizes that the removal of pain has its own right in terms of sensation, “express the sensation which accompanies the removal of pain or danger”(Burke 457).  Having labeled this, seeks to differentiate and end the characterization of pleasure. Burke continues to introduce his idea of “grief”, which is the state when the effects of pleasure from the object is forever lost and “disappointment”, which occurs when the pleasure abruptly ends without any warning (Burke 457).

With that being said and explained, Burke puts emphasis on terror. He suggests that objects can intense emotions that is in relation to terror is the origin of sublime, “in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of the sublime; that is, it is productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling (Burke 459). Now, how do all concepts and terms fit into Gustave Doré’s paintings. I shall explain with Charon, Ferryman of the Dead:

Doré, Gustave. Charon, ferryman of the dead. 1890, Acheronte

here you see a man, Charon. He is fulfilling his duties in transporting souls to Hell. But, there are so many details that are so complex and integral to experience the sublime from this. Initially, the viewer will be in a state of indifference. Then upon looking at this painting there is curiousness behind Charon and his actions in a troubling setting. In this case, the viewer is now eager to look closely into painting. The painting illustrates about how powerful nature is:  the darkness in the skies, the distinct winds and fogs surrounding Charon, and the intense ferocious waves. To which, all of this brings about a level of terror from the viewer. This chaos can be interpreted as being nothing or insignificant in the face of violence in nature. Now with these feelings of dread inflicting upon the viewer how can this be in relation to pleasure. Well Burke would argue that the experiences from these paintings can bring up a positive change in their mind. This notion of being inadequate and loss of control gives the viewer an opportunity to see their circumstances in new light. Debra Hickenlooper Sowell describes the sublime as “objects or scenes inspired astonishment, horror, and pain, but examined from a distance the produced awe and a sense of pleasurable fear before Nature’s grandeur” (Sowell 86). As we examined our horror at a distance we are content in finding art that manages to question our reality and contemplate about their influence in our perception in our reality.

To better understand Burke’s perspective about the Sublime and the Beautiful. I bring up Sir Philip Sidney who gives an interesting piece in his work An Apology for Poetry about the beneficial effects when one is exposed to art:

This purifying of wit, this enriching of memory, enabling of judgement, and enlarging of                conceit, which commonly we call learning ,under what name soever it come forth , or to                what immediate end soever it be directed, the final end is to lead and draw us to as high a          perfection as our degenerate souls , made worse by their clayey lodgings , can be capable            of(Sidney 260)

What a better way to explain this phenomenon by which the viewer is shown devastation, to which is so vivid that it burrows into our memories. This powerful image takes a hold of your judgment, and somehow calms you and gives you a sense of security and solace in the grand scheme of things.

Doré, Gustave. Satan. 1890

Now I will examine the second painting from Gustave Doré entitled Satan. Immediately the viewer is exposed to the vastness on this landscape, the terror and danger emanating from Satan, and desolation in which these sinners reside. Burke would suggest that the viewer would go in and out of the state of indifference, for their curiosity would follow the vast amount of information from this painting and satisfaction from taking all these information. These indicators of pleasure encourage the viewer in a way that contemplates the hellish way that these sinners are punished. Or to feel fear in reference to Satan and his mountain-like stance. Burke saw terror and fear as a necessary component to gain wisdom. This new found knowledge is only achieved by strong negative emotion manifesting to the sublime (Hur, Y.-J. et al.).

I decided to elaborate on Burke’s concept of the “beautiful” towards the end of my analysis, for unlike the “sublime” it is easier to understand and applied to my examples Burke claims that the beauty inspires the individual to feel affection towards that which is perceived as beautiful. Beauty has a positive social quality that inspires love or affection toward whomever is perceived as beautiful.  Let us look back at those two paintings. The painting Charon, ferryman of the dead brings the viewer love for the passion behind the details and intricate horror behind the Acheron River in contrasts to the large walls between Charon. As for the painting Satan, Burke would argue that the viewer will find beauty in seeing Virgil and Dante in contrast to Satan’s statue. There is a sense of concern for the well-being for these fictitious characters and the vastness in which this circle inhabits.

Thus Burke saw this phenomenon as a useful corrective. It restores perspective and re-evaluates our own egotism and morals. Burke suggests that there is the need of the Sublime and Beautiful as a utility to feel in place in our domestic lives:

beauty should shun the right line, and when it deviates, it often makes a strong deviation;            beauty should not be obscure; the great ought to be dark and gloomy; beauty should be              light and delicate; the great ought to be solid and massive (Burke 460)

Again, with the examples I’ve shown, one is forced to contemplate at a distance the horrors they witnessed and think about better ways to go about their lives. In relishing these moments evoked from these painting we are enabling ourselves to sense that our stressful lives are minor compared the experiences of the painting. It is a pleasant way to find solace in the face of adversity.

Bibliography

Cain, William, et la. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Edited by Vincent B. Leitch, 2nd ed, 2010, 2001

Hantke, Steffen. “The Function of the Sublime in Contemporary Horror: From Edmund Burke to Michael Blumlein.” Foundation 0 (1997): 45. Web.

Sowell, D.H., 2011. Romantic Landscapes for Dance: Ballet Narratives and Edmund Burke’s Theory of the Sublime. Dance Chronicle, 34(2), pp.183–216.

Hur, Y.-J. et al., 2018. Facing the Sublime: Physiological Correlates of the Relationship Between Fear and the Sublime. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, pp.Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 2018.

Doré, Gustave. Charon, ferryman of the dead. 1890, Acheronte

Doré, Gustave. Satan. 1890

Reading and understanding the Divine Comedy has been a long difficult process for me! At first I was complaining about it and it was frustrating for me to have so many sources to help me understand a text that seemed so difficult from far away to read. Virgil and Dante’s journal through hell and through Purgatorio is filled with many characters that are easy to mix up, especially being that it was my first time reading it.

Dante and Virgil’s journey through Purgatorio is separated into terraces on this mountain. At the very top of the mountain, is the entrance to Heaven, at the bottom is where they just came from Hell. I found it very interesting of the shapes of each part of the Comedies. Inferno was shaped like a spiral, as they descent down through hell, they are understanding sinners and grief, whereas in Purgatorio, they are ascending upward towards the entrance to Heaven. There is a very helpful video on youtube that explains this and the entire Comedy in separate parts.

I like this symbolism throughout the Cantos, it is simple when looking at it like a mountain that you leave your sins behind at the bottom as you recapture innocence of humanity before the fall of man. At the very top of Purgatory, Dante and Virgil find Matilda, who also is near Beatrice whom is Dante’s (dead) girlfriend. Beatrice’s explanation is very confusing as well and I will need to work more to understand that.

The video I watched mentioned that the theme of threes comes up a lot in the trilogy, which is something I will likely mention and look more into in my final paper.

So here goes nothing! we’re all getting close to the end of Dante’s journey. I will be honest, in the beginning of inferno i was completely confused with all the names and characters, the term of contrapasso and all the metaphors included with inferno. But after progressing to purgatorio, it all began to make sense as i began to understand why Dante chose specific people to be punished with the sins.

now when i read canto 32, i was shocked that Beatrice was sitting at the bottom of the tree waiting for Dante because she could’ve easily waited for him in heaven since he was eventually going to meet up with him there anyways. i really did laugh at the irony of how the chariot was attacked by an eagle, then the earth split thus releasing a Dragon from the split which also attacked the chariot. What kind of bad luck does Dante have, i mean seriously. now thats how i would personally interpret this but then i began to think about it from a literary standpoint. i asked myself what could all these symbols, creatures, and animals stand for, and why were these random people mentioned? as it turns out, the chariot is actually a representation of the Church. the eagle which i have yet to piece together, and the dragon which i think represents the islamic religion.

P.S. i was going to post on the 29th but i then saw that it says May 1st on the top.

Copia di Purgatorio, Canto 33,

As Dante meets with Beatrice in canto 30 of Purgatory, and especially as he starts his journey to Paradise, a great contrast is built. Not only in the contrast between heaven and hell which itself is heavily evident, but also in Dante’s perception of both. A concept I found interesting is how Dante’s comprehension of God’s Divine will in Cantos 32-33 of Purgatory is a struggle to say the least. The waters of the Lethe (Canto 33 Purg., 96) and their impact on Dante are just one example, and in Beatrice’s own words; “the school that you have followed and may see if what it taught can comprehend what I have said – and see that, as the earth is distant from the highest and the swiftest of the heavens, so distant is your way from the divine,” (Canto 33 Purg., 85-90) or in other words, Dante’s perception of the way things work is exclusive to the human experience, and because of this he struggles to comprehend the “highest and swiftest” of divine will. This idea is further illustrated in Canto 1 of Paradiso, in which Dante describes the incredible sights he sees as he enters heaven, so incredible that “our intellect sinks into an abyss so deep that memory fails to follow it,” and he is unable to remember the sights, and is only left with the knowledge that they were beyond the human eye.

I found this idea interesting, especially considering how the sins of those in Inferno are not hard to perceive by Dante. He even finds himself relating to many of them and reacting to them emotionally, despite the advice of Virgil that pity for the sins of others is in it of itself a sin. The only real struggle Dante describes in Inferno is accurately capturing the nature of punishment, a severe contrast to the latter cantos of Purgatorio and those of Paradiso. I found this poetic, because it argues that the sins of Inferno are well situated in human perception and experience, while the light of God and his true intentions are far beyond our gaze.

Dante’s perception of Heaven and Hell is a mechanism through which poet Dante expresses the relativity of the human mind. He presents sin and punishment as something human perception is accustomed to, an element in our nature. Whereas in Paradiso, he demonstrates that divine will and the ultimate nature of heaven are truly beyond our gaze grounded on earth. In a certain way, Dante’s own sin and affiliation with it because of human nature is exactly what holds him from the actuality of God’s divine will.

Sidenote: My final paper will be an analysis of Contrapasso throughout Inferno, and its representation in art. I plan to go into depth on four major artists and their interpretations of Contrapasso in Inferno in addition to Dante’s descriptions of Contrapasso during his journey and after the last judgement. Finally, I hope to tie all of this together with an additional theme in Inferno: the relation between Art from Nature, and Nature from God.