Dante Today

Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture

Beatrice by William Dyce

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“This painting was commissioned by [Dyce’s] friend, the Victorian prime minister WE Gladstone, a great Dante enthusiast. The model for Dante’s heroine was – at Gladstone’s request – Marian Summerhayes, an artist’s model and former prostitute “rescued” by the Liberal politician. It is possible that Dyce also used some photographic studies of the sitter to work from, which could explain the pensive stillness of his Beatrice, who is painted in three-quarter view and has a sculptured quality about it.

‘Dyce’s Beatrice sits serenely, her downcast eyes concentrating on something we cannot see within the picture space, thus elevating herself from this present to another time and place.” [. . .]    –Griffin Coe, The Guardian, May 3, 2021

This entry is part of the Guardian’s Great British Art Tour 2021

The Florentine: “Uffizi Pays Tribute To Dante With A Tree-Centric Exhibition”

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uffizi-pays-tribute-to-dante-with-a-tree-centric-exhibition-the-florentine-2021“The City of Florence and the Uffizi Galleries are paying tribute to Dante Alighieri during the 700th anniversary year of the Florentine poet’s death with a maxi-tree installation and exhibition dedicated to Piedmontese artist Giuseppe Penone. Abete (Fir) will be inaugurated in Piazza della Signoria on March 25, the date when Dante is believed to have started writing his Divine Comedy and the date that the Italian government has dedicated to the writer as a symbol of Italian culture worldwide. The 22-metre-high tree by Penone is a preview of the Dante-centric contemporary art exhibition, which is scheduled to run at the Uffizi from June 1 to September 12. The title of the Uffizi show, Alberi In-Versi (Trees In-Verses), refers to a line in Dante’s Paradiso: ‘albero che vive della cima’ (18.28-30: ‘that tree / that thrives from summit down’). The verse pictures a place where the corporeal and conceptual worlds meet.” [. . .]    –Editorial Staff, The Florentine, March 10, 2021

“Une illustration de La Divine Comédie longue de 97 mètres”

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“L’artiste turinois Enrico Mazzone a réalisé une œuvre, Rubedo, en hommage à Dante Alighieri. Il ne s’agit pas d’une œuvre au format traditionnel, mais de l’illustration de l’intégralité de La Divine Comédie, simulant la technique de la gravure lithographique, sur une feuille de papier de 97 mètres de long et de quatre mètres de haut. Une œuvre colossale, qui a débuté en 2015 en Finlande et s’est achevée à Ravenne, cinq années après, sur la mezzanine du Mercato Coperto (le marché couvert).

“Mais bientôt il sera possible de voir cet ouvrage depuis son propre ordinateur, des quatre coins du monde. Le Département du tourisme de la municipalité de Ravenne et le Laboratorio Aperto en ont en effet commandé la numérisation, qui a commencé le 6 février et se poursuivra jusqu’au 22 février 2021.” [. . .]    –Federica Malinverno, ActuaLitte, February 15, 2021.

The Florentine, “Make Like Dante: Everything You Need To Write Something Epic”

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make-like-dante-everything-you-need-to-write-something-epic-the-florentine-2021“Before you plunge into your own artistic endeavor, perhaps you’d like to learn more about the man himself. Alexandra Lawrence’s The Divine Dante online course hosted by The British Institute is a six-week guided reading of Dante’s epic work, expertly delivered to make the overwhelming text more manageable and casting light on the many layers of meaning. Starting on March 9, details can be found at theflr.net/divinedantebi. Already made your way through the three canticas? Alexandra is also running Dante and the Visual Arts, a three-session course looking at artistic culture during Dante’s day and how it made its way into his work. The classes will be held on March 11, 18 and 25, providing a visual feast to accompany your deep dive.” [. . .]    –TF x, The Florentine, March 3, 2021.

 

Jacek Lipowczan, “Dante Cycle”

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Dante’s Way to Inferno

“Jacek Lipowczan signs his paintings as ‘JALI’. Jacek Lipowczan born in September 1951 in South Poland, studied on the Academy of  Fine Arts in Cracow and graduated in 1976 obtaining his Master of Art Degree in the Grafic Design in the atelier of Professor M. Wejman. His experience as junior scene designer in the team of Polish film Director Kazimierz Kutz introduced him to the works and projects of Andrzej Majewski. The fairy tale imaginative works of this Artist strongly influenced  Jacek Lipowczan’s future creativity and his artistic imagination.” [. . .]    –Jacek Lipowczan, Jacek Lipowczan Magical Dreams, 2018

The paintings from JaLi’s “Dante Cycle,” like the two images featured here, can be viewed in the virtual gallery on his website (2008 and 2009).

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Passing Through—Dante Cycle

How to Cite

Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.

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