Inferno According to Dante
c. 1470, printed 19th century
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Plate: 22 × 28.2 cm (8 11/16 × 11 1/8 in.); Sheet: 28 × 26.2 cm (11 1/16 × 10 3/8 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
109120
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The frightening depiction of Hell follows Dante’s use of contrapasso (suffer the opposite) in which the sinners’ penance is based on the nature of their crimes. The gluttons to Satan’s left, for example, face a dinner table, but the tormenting demons prevent them from eating. This print is a copy of a mid-1330s fresco in Campo Santo, Pisa, by Francesco Traini. It was made by an unknown Florentine engraver before extensive renovations to the fresco in 1523 radically altered the composition.