Dante Lost in a Wood: Escaping and Meeting Virgil, illustration for Canto I from The Divine Comedy
- Attributed to
- Baccio Baldini, Italian, c.1436–1487
- Date
- 1481
- Material
- Engraving
- published in
- Florence, Tuscany region, Italy, Europe
- Classification
- Prints
- Collection
- Prints, Drawings, and Photographs
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- image: 3 3/4 x 6 3/4 in. (9.5 x 17.1 cm)
plate: 3 13/16 x 6 13/16 in. (9.7 x 17.3 cm)
sheet: 3 7/8 x 6 7/8 in. (9.8 x 17.5 cm)
framed (exhibition frame 2017): 12 5/8 × 15 5/8 in. (32.1 × 39.7 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Mark Steinberg Weil and Phoebe Dent Weil
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 99:2021
NOTES
This small engraving illustrates the first part of The Divine Comedy by the 14th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The print combines several episodes from Dante’s poem. The poet is the story’s main character, and moving from left to right, he wanders through the woods, and is then attacked by a lion, a panther, and finally a wolf. In the center, he meets the ancient Roman poet, Virgil, who will guide him on his journey through purgatory and hell.
The image comes from an early printing of The Divine Comedy, dated 1481. This impression is notable for its high quality, seen in the light gray tonalities of the ink that are characteristic of 15th-century engraving.
The image comes from an early printing of The Divine Comedy, dated 1481. This impression is notable for its high quality, seen in the light gray tonalities of the ink that are characteristic of 15th-century engraving.
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