Flaxman's Illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy

by John Flaxman

Since its creation at the beginning of the fourteenth century, Dante's Divine Comedy —a masterpiece of European literature—has moved legendary artists such as William Blake and Gustave Doré to illustrate the famed poem. John Flaxman, English sculptor, draughtsman, and renowned Wedgwood designer, was no exception. Commissioned at the end of the eighteenth century by famed art collector and author Thomas Hope, Flaxman's 110 illustrations of the Divine Comedy are known as his greatest achievement. Deceptively simple, awash in pathos, and recalling antique imagery in a classically Greek style, they themselves became an inspiration for such artists as Goya and Ingres, and were used as an academic source for nineteenth-century art students.
This magnificent edition of Flaxman's Illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy includes the complete series of drawings created by Flaxman for all 99 cantos of the literary masterwork. A glorious collection of lively outlines that captures the very spirit of Dante's poem, it is an essential addition to the bookshelves of art, literature, and history enthusiasts. Captions are included from the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translation of the original text.

Genres: Art

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

John Flaxman RA (1755 – 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several years in Rome, where he produced his first book illustrations. He was a prolific maker of funerary monuments.