Dante Alighieri with Florence and the Realms of the Divine Comedy (Hell, Purgatory, Paradise)

Dante Alighieri stands in the foreground holding a copy of his Divine Comedy, in a composition that brings together, within a single image, the afterlife described in the poem and the city where the poet was born. Behind him unfold the three realms of the work, Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, while a view of Florence fills the lower part, with its cathedral easily recognised. The painting, dated 1465, is associated with Domenico di Michelino, who is thought to have worked from a drawing by Alesso Baldovinetti. Its most striking detail is the laurel wreath crowning the poet's head. It is among the earliest known depictions to show him this way, an attribute that later became standard in his iconography. For this reason the picture matters both to those studying how Dante was portrayed and to those interested in how Florence shaped its literary and civic memory during the fifteenth century.

Painter

Domenico di Michelino

Date

1465

Medium

oil paint, canvas

Dimensions

232 × 290 cm

Museum

Florence Cathedral, Florence

Depicts

Dante Alighieri, Florence Cathedral, Florence, paradise, The Divine Comedy, hell, purgatory

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