The drawings illustrating Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy are, for the first time, online. With the beginning of 2021, which marks the 700th anniversary of the death of the great poet, on the site of the Uffizi Galleries it is possible to admire the 88 works created at the end of the sixteenth century by the painter Federico Zuccari (Sant'Angelo in Vado, 1540 - Ancona , 1609). The illustrations, which reproduce some scenes of Dante's Inferno, Paradiso and Purgatorio, have been digitized in high definition. The same are organized in a route in stages. It allows anyone who wishes to admire them in their entirety and in every detail.
A collection donated by Anna Maria Luisa de 'Medici
The drawings illustrating the Poem open the year of celebrations in honor of Dante Alighieri. The virtual exhibition, which allows you to admire them in all their beauty, is called "To see the stars again". Made between 1586 and 1588, the drawings belong to a collection that entered the Uffizi in 1738, following a donation. This donation was made by Anna Maria Luisa de 'Medici, last representative of the Medici Grand Ducal branch. Held from that moment on in the Cabinet of Drawings and Prints, the collection was only exhibited to the public on two occasions, but partially. The first time in 1865, during the great Dante exhibition held at Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, in Florence. The second time in 1993, at the Casa di Dante in Abruzzo.
A unique opportunity
Drawings illustrating the Divine Comedy, made on sheets, are fragile, delicate to the point of being exposed only every five years. As with all works on paper, they are kept in a protected environment, away from light. For this reason, the precious illustrations can be consulted by a limited number of scholars. In ancient times, the sheets were bound in a volume. Today, this virtual exhibition allows everyone to see it. It is a unique opportunity, especially for art lovers and for admirers of the great poet.
One of the most comprehensive illustrative campaigns of the Poem
Federico Zuccari, also known for having been the author of the frescoes of the Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, was, together with his brother Taddeo, among the protagonists of the Italian art of late Mannerism. His illustrations of the Divine Comedy are radically detached from the others produced until the second half of the 800th century. His sheets are a real historiated cycle that accompanies Dante's verses. It is one of the most impressive and comprehensive illustrative campaigns ever made of Dante's work.
Dante Alighieri, soon a protagonist throughout the peninsula
The drawings illustrating the Poem were kept by the artist throughout his life. After his death it seems that they were bought by one of the sons of the Duke of Bracciano, who probably had them bound. Only in 1738 did they arrive - as we know - at the Gallery. These drawings represent one of the numerous projects included in the celebrations of the 700th anniversary of the death of the father of the Italian language. As soon as the health emergency allows it, it will be possible to witness live the numerous events of high cultural and scientific value that will see Dante as the absolute protagonist in various cities of Italy.
(Photo from the Uffizi Galleries website)
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