Dante's Encounter with Beatrice as a Model for Artistic Virtue

In a newsletter article for The FASO Way, writer Eugene Terekhin explores Dante Alighieri's account in 'Vita Nuova' of his first meeting with Beatrice Portinari. Terekhin argues that the transformative power of Beatrice's gaze, which made Dante feel he had no enemies and could forgive everyone, serves as a metaphor for the artist's encounter with beauty. The article suggests that true virtue and artistic inspiration arise not from willpower but from being overwhelmed by a divine or transcendent gaze. Terekhin connects this to the mission of FASO, a platform for artist websites, which aims to counter a world that treats art as content and artists as algorithms. The piece includes a quote from Dante's 'Purgatorio' and references to Christ's command to love one's enemies. The article is part of a series on thriving as an artist in the age of AI.