Illustrations of Dante (1978)
Title
Illustrations of Dante (1978)
Original Date:
1824-1827
Facsimile Date:
1978
Publisher:
Trianon Press
Physical Description:
12 plates ; 44 x 57 cm.
Background Information:
The Trianon Press reproduced the seven engravings that Blake completed for Dante’s Divine Comedy, along with preliminary sketches and other background material, as special project in 1978. The library’s acquisition of this copy in 2016 completed its set of all of the Blake facsimiles produced by the Trianon Press between 1951 and 1987. It was gifted to the library anonymously in honor of James McCord, Union College Professor of English Emeritus.
Student Commentary:
Overview: Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was an Italian poet. He held many powerful and prominent positions in the Florentine government, but his involvement in some of these positions resulted in him being accused of corruption. He was exiled from Florence, but during this time period, after his exile, he composed the Divine Comedy, an epic poem that follows Dante on a journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. The poem is infused not only with reflections on religion and morality but many personal, literary, and historic references. Blake, late in his life, was commissioned by his friend John Linnell to illustrate this work. He was actively working on the project when he died, having completed 102 watercolor designs for it, but only seven finished engravings. Although Blake and Dante did not share all of the same beliefs, Blake is still believed to have admired the other writer. Some aspects of his illustrations for the Divine Comedy are very detailed, whereas others are just a simple sketch. In some illustrations Blake seems to have spent the most time on the more gruesome and dark features of the image. These qualities can perhaps be attributed to Blake’s state of health or mind at the end of his life. – Caitlin Williams ‘18