CAPTIONS STILL BEING SORTED

 

Illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy .
For the moment this is a repository for images arranged chronologically. They will be sorted later.

an engraving after a miniature of Hell , from Ludwig Volkman, Iconografia Dantesca , Grevel, London, 1899. The Circles of Hell , as described by Dante are heavily overpopulated. This image dates from the second half of the fourteenth century and the original Codex is in the Museum of Paris.

 

A3 Portrait of the Poet from the Nicolino edition of 1564. The Landino edition of the Divine Comedy , Florence Alamanus 1481,

The original plan was for the artist (Sandro Botticelli) to create drawings for each of the 100 Cantos. But in the end only 19 designs seem to be extant.The edition is also justly celebrated for the elegance and invention, clarity and balance of its typography on the page - typography as a discipline was still in its infancy.

B 2 3 4 The second illustrated edition and again with Landino's commentary , Brescia 1487, three illustrations from the Inferno , Canto II, Brescia,1487

Images from the fourth illustrated edition (The Benali edition) ; Venice 1491, 83 x 85 mm

two woodcuts extracted from the page, and beneath, examples of the page design structure.

The Landino Edition Venice, 1536; the decorative frame format; an engraved image within of Dante's vision of the signs of the Zodiac.

The Marcolini edition Venice, 1544; one of the large wood cuts for the Marcolini edition (used next in the Nicolino edition of 1564). There were 110 images in all, some full page.

D2 The Zatta edition , Venice, 1757 - 1758 ; 59 etchings printed in colour after drawings by the contemporary Venetian School.

D3 4 Jose Segrelles , paintings suggested by Dante's Inferno, and specially painted for the Illustrated London News Christmas Number 1928. "A Serpent with six feet springs forth" and the torment of the carnal sinners.

 

 

from the Nonesuch edition 1928

Baldini after Botticelli engraving, "Virgil counselling Dante to take another route", 1481

another plate to the Brescia second illustrated 1487