Choose your Layer: Dante/Catholic/Florentine-style

In last week's post, Alex asked us to think about our sins, and I know that many of you have been reflecting on that over the weekend. I wanted to help you out by analyzing in more detail an image from 1465 that I showed in class, "The Comedy Illuminating Florence." It was painted by Domenico di Michelino (d. 1498), who was a Florentine;  this image was displayed within the Florentine Duomo, or cathedral. Notice that the Duomo is also in the picture, as is Dante who truly takes center stage, offering Florence his great work (though he stands outside the city reflecting his exile).

The Divine Comedy, stood as a significant marker for the rebirth of society by later generations, though clearly it was written before the Renaissance. The fact that the image appeared in 1465 in the Duomo tells you much about the self-promotionalism of city-states. The poem that accompanies the painting calls Dante a "master-poet" and  a "father, wise and strong." You can read the epitaph here: www.college.columbia.edu/core/content/la-divina-commedia-di-dante-domenico-di-michelino-1465

The artifact below is indicative of several themes related to Florentine culture that we have been discussing in class. As Zophy remarks, Dante was the author of the The Divine Comedy a series of books on Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. The photograph below was taken from flickr.com, a site where travellers post travel images. Here the painting stands in the cathedral.

When looking at this image you see actually Mt. Purgatory, the doors are right there. And who is at the top? Someone fairly nice--love is in the air! It's Adam and Eve in Paradiso. That's where we want to be, right?  You heard me say that purgatory is not the worst place to be, and this kind of demonstrates that. At least there is a final goal; you simply need to work yourself up the mountain. But where is hell or inferno? It's on the left hand side of the top above image, where all the bodies are crouching in pain. A separate area for which there is NO return.

Finally I wanted to include this image, so you can place yourself more fully. What is your flaw? (one only though right?)