Dante's Divine Comedy was deeply influenced by the visual culture of his time and the poem has had a profound impact on the visual arts to this day. Students will read the entire Divine Comedy and explore visualizations of the poem created in a variety of media from the 14th century to the present time. We will consider “visualization” in a variety of ways. Pictorial responses to the poem will be explored on their own terms, but also for how they might offer a visual commentary or a series of perspectives on Dante’s incredible poem. Key themes to be explored include the way artists use one story to tell other stories; translation as a form of representation; representing the un-representable; Dante’s somatic wisdom; Dante’s imagery of exile; how and why Dante appeals to such a wide variety of readers and audiences.
- Teacher: Benjamin David