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Home>Exhibitions>Past>2023>Going through Hell: The Divine Dante

# Going through Hell: The Divine Dante

Past Exhibition

## April 9 – July 16, 2023West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 10–11

Florentine poet, writer and philosopher Dante Alighieri’s (1265-1321) *Divine Comedy* called *Commedia* in Italian, was written in the Florentine vernacular that formed the basis for the modern Italian language. It describes Dante’s journey through Hell (*Inferno*), Purgatory (*Purgatorio*) and Paradise (*Paradiso*), guided first by the ancient Roman poet Virgil, and then his beloved Beatrice. In the more than 700 years since it was written, the *Divine Comedy* has remained one of the most influential works of Western literature.

*Going through Hell: The Divine Dante* explores the influence of this seminal manuscript in some 20 works all from the National Gallery’s collection. Beginning with the 16th century painted *Allegorical Portrait of Dante* these range from rare early printed editions of the *Divine Comedy* to sculptures by Auguste Rodin created initially for his monumental project *The Gates of Hell*, to works on paper from the 15th to 20th century, from William Blake to Robert Rauschenberg.

## Explore Selected Works

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Florentine 16th Century, *Allegorical Portrait of Dante*, late 16th century, oil on panel, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1961.9.57

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Auguste Rodin, *The Thinker (Le Penseur)*, model 1880, cast 1901, bronze, Gift of Mrs. John W. Simpson, 1942.5.12

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Robert Rauschenberg, *Drawings for Dante's 700 Birthday, II.B*, 1965, graphite, watercolor, and gouache with screenprint on two panels of Strathmore illustration board, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1976.56.137

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Gy Szabo Bela, *Dante: L'enfer, Chant XXI, Ongles sales (Dante's Inferno, Canto XXI, Nasty Claws)*, 1963, hand printed wood engraving on Japanese paper, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Le Bovit, 1968.22.6

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Jean-Jacques Feuchère, *Dante Meditating on the "Divine Comedy"*, 1843, pen and brown ink with brown wash and watercolor over graphite, heightened with white gouache, on 3 joined sheets of laid paper, Gift of the Christian Humann Foundation, 1996.128.14

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Florentine 15th Century, *Dante before the Mountain of Purgatory [reverse]*, late 15th century, bronze//Molded frame, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1957.14.893.b

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Joseph Anton Koch, *Dante and Virgil Riding on the Back of Geryon*, c. 1821, pen and black ink over graphite on laid paper, fragments of graphite borderlines at top, left, and bottom, Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 2007.111.113

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Auguste Rodin, *The Kiss (Le Baiser)*, model 1880-1887, cast c. 1898/1902, bronze, Gift of Mrs. John W. Simpson, 1942.5.15

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
William Etty, *Scene from the Inferno (canto IX)*, pen and black ink with gray wash, Julius S. Held Collection, 1985.1.31

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Bartolomeo Pinelli, *Dante Flees the Wild Beasts and Meets Virgil*, 1824, graphite on laid paper, mounted on nineteenth-century album sheet, Gift of Alexandra Baer, 2007.149.1

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Florentine 15th Century, *Dante Alighieri, Florentine Poet, 1265-1321 [obverse]*, late 15th century, bronze//Molded frame, Samuel H. Kress Collection, 1957.14.893.a

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
William Blake, *The Circle of the Lustful: Paolo and Francesca*, 1827, engraving, Rosenwald Collection, 1943.3.5395

Going through Hell: The Divine Dante
Italian 15th Century, *The Inferno, after the Fresco in the Camposanto of Pisa*, c. 1480/1500, engraving, Rosenwald Collection, 1964.8.184

## Dive Deeper

Going through Hell? See Dante’s “The Divine Comedy” in Art
Travel with artists through Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell.
A Poem of Exile on Dante Day
A look at the writer, poet, and father of the modern Italian language.

## Events

Sunday, June 4, 12:00 p.m.
Through the Gates of Hell: Dante and Auguste Rodin
**Hybrid Event: Registration Required**

Join senior lecturer David Gariff for a talk exploring the impact of Dante Alighieri’s *The Divine Comedy* on the art and thought of French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Friday, June 16, 1:00 p.m.
Dante: A Poem and Its Afterlife
**In-Person Event**

Join us in our *Going through Hell: The Divine Dante* exhibition for a conversation with Professor Deborah Parker.

**Organization**                        Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington                    

The exhibition is curated by Gretchen Hirschauer, curator of Italian and Spanish paintings, National Gallery of Art.

**Passes** Admission is always free and passes are not required

**Banner detail**: Florentine 16th Century, *Allegorical Portrait of Dante*, late 16th century, oil on panel, overall: 126.9 x 120 cm (49 15/16 x 47 1/4 in.), framed: 165.7 x 158.8 x 8.3 cm (65 1/4 x 62 1/2 x 3 1/4 in.), National Gallery of Art, Washington, Samuel H. Kress Collection

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