Circle of Baccio Baldini (Italian, c. 1436–1487)
after Francesco Traini (Italian, active 1321–1345)
Inferno According to Dante
INV-1091
Circle of Baccio Baldini (Italian, c. 1436–1487)
after Francesco Traini (Italian, active 1321–1345)c. 1470, printed 19th century
Inferno According to Dante
Circle of Baccio Baldini (Italian, c. 1436–1487) after Francesco Traini (Italian, active 1321–1345) →engravingprint
Date
c. 1470, printed 19th century
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
Plate: 22 × 28.2 cm (8 11/16 × 11 1/8 in.); Sheet: 28 × 26.2 cm (11 1/16 × 10 3/8 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
The frightening depiction of Hell follows Dante’s use of contrapasso (suffer the opposite) in which the sinners’ penance is based on the nature of their crimes. The gluttons to Satan’s left, for example, face a dinner table, but the tormenting demons prevent them from eating.
This print is a copy of a mid-1330s fresco in Campo Santo, Pisa, by Francesco Traini. It was made by an unknown Florentine engraver before extensive renovations to the fresco in 1523 radically altered the composition.