Yesterday it was Saint Valentine’s Day and, to continue the love theme while we start to move on into a brand new week, let’s look at two paintings about Paolo and Francesca and see how they may inspire us in fashion.
The ill-fated lovers Dante meets in the Second Circle of Hell (Divine Comedy, Inferno, Canto 5) inspired countless painters throughout the decades. As you may remember if you have read The Divine Comedy, Francesca, the daughter of Guido da Polenta, was married to Giovanni Malatesta (also known as Gianciotto). She fell in love with Giovanni's younger brother, Paolo, who was married as well and the two had an affair, but, when Giovanni discovered it, he killed them both.
In the painting "Paolo and Francesca surprised by Gianciotto" (1819) by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, the author includes archaisms of the Italian primitives such as the linearity of the figures, but also the wooden furnishings and the damasked curtain in the background. In the painting Francesca wears a red dress, a colour hinting at passion, while Paolo's clothes are characterised by pastel shades. The sleeves of their garments are slashed according to the fashion of the time, a sartorial trick that allowed more freedom of movement.
In the second painting featured in this post, "L'incontro di Paolo e Francesca" (1810) by Nicola Monti, we join Dante and Virgil on their journey through Hell. The two travellers meet Paolo and Francesca in the second circle of hell, where the lustful are punished. The souls in this circle are caught in a perpetual whirlwind and they are swept through the air (to symbolize the fact they were swept by their passions). Monti painted a scene taken from the end of the Canto: Virgil is portrayed with his hand raised to symbolise the fact that he had called the two souls as Dante wanted to speak to them; Paolo and Francesca have just finished telling their story that struck a chord within Dante, that's why the poet has fainted.
In Monti's painting the two souls are naked, surrounded by billowing shroud-like veils that partially cover them and help the painter to orchestrate a sense of movement and rhythm. Vivid red is instead reserved for Dante's robe (he is traditionally depicted wearing this colour), hinting in this case not at passion but at the blood of the two lovers.
Both the paintings can provide us with inspirations, from the main colours employed to the textures, moods and atmospheres, and, if you like the Dante and art connection you will be happy to hear that the two works will be part of the exhibition "Dante. La visione dell'arte" (Dante. The Vision of Art), scheduled to open at the San Domenico Museums in Forlì in April. The event will celebrate through 300 works of art the 700th anniversary of Dante's death (the exhibition should run from April 1st to July 11th, if there aren't any disruptions due to Coronavirus).
Image credits for this post
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Paolo and Francesca surprised by Gianciotto
1819
Angers, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Nicola Monti
Paolo and Francesca
1810
Florence, Uffizi Gallery
Henry James Holiday
Dante Alighieri
1875 circa
Private Collection
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