FILIPPO BIGIOLI
"Sketches of Dante's Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise"

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Sketch n.1: “Dante Lost in the Forest”

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With this sketch we are in the very first canto of The Divine Comedy, when Dante finds himself lost in a forest and is about to start his journey through Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise.

The painting displays a prevalence of dark colours and shades, but there seems to be a point of light in the centre, where the protagonist, Dante himself, is. The forest in the background obviously creates a state of anxiety and loneliness in those looking at it. Dante’s expression is far from being relaxed, he looks worried and almost restless.

At the beginning of The Divine Comedy the reader is told that Dante finds himself in a dark forest and he has lost his way. He did not realise what was happening because his soul was sleepy. Dante imagined a scary forest as a metaphor for sin, which no human being can escape sooner or later in life.

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With this sketch we are in the very first canto of The Divine Comedy, when Dante finds himself lost in a forest and is about to start his journey through Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise.

The painting displays a prevalence of dark colours and shades, but there seems to be a point of light in the centre, where the protagonist, Dante himself, is. The forest in the background obviously creates a state of anxiety and loneliness in those looking at it. Dante’s expression is far from being relaxed, he looks worried and almost restless.

At the beginning of The Divine Comedy the reader is told that Dante finds himself in a dark forest and he has lost his way. He did not realise what was happening because his soul was sleepy. Dante imagined a scary forest as a metaphor for sin, which no human being can escape sooner or later in life.

Sketch n.4 “Charon on the Journey of Souls”

This sketch introduces the 3rd canto of the Inferno of The Divine Comedy where Dante explains for the first time the law of retaliation, which regulates the infernal existence in the realm of Hell. 

Dante and Virgil meet Charon, the ferryman of souls, who guides the damned across the Acheron river. Dante suffers a lot in seeing the condemned enter Hell but is comforted by Virgil. When Dante and Virgil arrive on the bank of the Acheron, they witness a ferryman who throws terrible threats to the shadows. Described as a demon, Charon orders Dante to leave because he is still living and does not belong there. Virgil reprimands Charon by replying that Dante's journey is willed by God.

The damned souls are immersed in the putrid river, the ones who hesitate to climb into the boat are hit by Charon with an oar. Dante describes Charon in some terrible details: he has a long, white beard and his eyes are like embers. 

This sketch introduces the 3rd canto of the Inferno of The Divine Comedy where Dante explains for the first time the law of retaliation, which regulates the infernal existence in the realm of Hell. 

Dante and Virgil meet Charon, the ferryman of souls, who guides the damned across the Acheron river. Dante suffers a lot in seeing the condemned enter Hell but is comforted by Virgil. When Dante and Virgil arrive on the bank of the Acheron, they witness a ferryman who throws terrible threats to the shadows. Described as a demon, Charon orders Dante to leave because he is still living and does not belong there. Virgil reprimands Charon by replying that Dante's journey is willed by God.

The damned souls are immersed in the putrid river, the ones who hesitate to climb into the boat are hit by Charon with an oar. Dante describes Charon in some terrible details: he has a long, white beard and his eyes are like embers. 

Sketch n.6: “Judgement of Minos”

This is the sixth sketch portraying an episode from the fifth canto of the Inferno of The Divine Comedy.
The painting depicts Dante and Virgil visiting the second circle of the lustful souls who are being judged by Minos, the judge of hell. When Minos, a giant human being with wings and a snake as a tail, first saw Dante he said he did not belong there. But then Virgil intervened by telling the judge that the poet was there by divine choice.

Dante learns that every soul stopping in front of Minos has to confess his/her sins to him. He will then twist his tail around himself and the number of circles produced correspond to the circle of hell in which the sinners are condemned to live.

Minos is a remarkable character because he has grotesque features but, at the same time, he is endowed with a royal personality and a wise mind, as can be seen when he warns Dante about the journey ahead of him. 

This is the sixth sketch portraying an episode from the fifth canto of the Inferno of The Divine Comedy.
The painting depicts Dante and Virgil visiting the second circle of the lustful souls who are being judged by Minos, the judge of hell. When Minos, a giant human being with wings and a snake as a tail, first saw Dante he said he did not belong there. But then Virgil intervened by telling the judge that the poet was there by divine choice.

Dante learns that every soul stopping in front of Minos has to confess his/her sins to him. He will then twist his tail around himself and the number of circles produced correspond to the circle of hell in which the sinners are condemned to live.

Minos is a remarkable character because he has grotesque features but, at the same time, he is endowed with a royal personality and a wise mind, as can be seen when he warns Dante about the journey ahead of him. 

Sketch n.7 “Paolo and Francesca in the Storm”

The Sketch reproduces the fifth canto of the Inferno of The Divine Comedy. Dante and Virgil enter the circle of the lustful souls. Their attention is drawn by two lovers, Paolo and Francesca. They are united in an embrace while a storm rages around them and Dante seems to be really interested in their story. Paolo starts to cry and Francesca begins to tell what happened to them. Francesca was married to a man called Gianciotto Malatesta. One day she was reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere with Paolo, Gianciotto's brother.

They were so moved by the story that their reciprocal tender emotion was impossible to resist and they kissed each other. Gianciotto saw them and he was so angry that he killed both of them. The passion that united the two lovers in life will not let them free. At the end of Francesca's story Dante faints from too much emotion.

In the foreground of this sketch we can see the dignified pose of Virgil (the man on the left) and the attention Dante (the man on the right) pays to the two lovers. The painful and tragical expressions of Paolo and Francesca are clearly visible to the onlookers. In the background are the suffering souls of the circle of the lustful. The prevalence of dark colours seems to indicate this is a gloomy place, thus recreating the hellish atmosphere.