Dante's Enduring Influence Across Art, Dance, Cinema, and Photography
This piece explores the impact of Dante Alighieri on modern artistic expressions, including art, dance, cinema, music, and photography. It highlights Ingmar Bergman's 1957 movie The Seventh Seal and Oswald Spengler's work The Decline of the West (1918-23), which discusses art as a form of salvation. Virgilio Sieni's talk at the University of Florence links Dante's odyssey to non-verbal dance communication, referencing performances such as the 2010 musical La Divina Commedia and the 2019 trilogy by No Gravity Dance Company. The article also contrasts early cinematic interpretations of Dante, like the 1911 films Inferno and Visioni Infernali. Additionally, it addresses the 2020 music album Infernum, which offers a new take on Dante's Inferno, and the political significance of vernacular language in De Vulgari Eloquentia (1303) within 14th-century Siena and Florence.
Key facts
- Virgilio Sieni gave a lecture at the University of Florence linking Dante to dance.
- The musical La Divina Commedia was performed at Verona Arena in 2010.
- No Gravity Dance Company performed a Dante trilogy at Teatro Open Air Giuseppe di Stefano in Trapani in August 2019.
- Two 1911 Italian films, Inferno (Milano Film) and Visioni Infernali (Helios Film), were influenced by Gustave Doré.
- The album Infernum by Clever Gold and Murubutu was released in 2020.
- Gabriele Dell'Otto illustrated the 2018 Mondadori edition of the Divine Comedy.
- Massimo Sestini's photo was exhibited at Palazzo del Quirinale for the Dante 700 exhibition in 2020.
- Corrado Ricci published La Divina Commedia illustrata nei luoghi e nelle persone in 1898.
- Vittorio Alinari published Paesaggi italici nella Divina Commedia in 1921.
- Dante's De Vulgari Eloquentia (1303) advocated for vernacular language.
- 14th-century statutes in Siena and Florence used vernacular for political self-celebration.
- Notaries Gangalandi (Siena) and Andrea Lancia (Florence) translated statutes into vernacular.
Entities
Artists
- Dante Alighieri
- Virgilio Sieni
- Gustave Doré
- Manolo Casalino
- Maurizio Colombi
- Marco Frisina
- Clever Gold
- Murubutu
- Gabriele Dell'Otto
- Alessandro D'Avenia
- Franco Nembrini
- Massimo Sestini
- Corrado Ricci
- Vittorio Alinari
- Millais
- Wyrfield
- Camillo Talamo
- Eugène Delacroix
- Gangalandi
- Andrea Lancia
- Michelozzo
- Leon Battista Alberti
- Bernardo Rossellino
- Alessandro Barbero
- Matilde Lanciani
Institutions
- University of Florence
- Arena di Verona
- No Gravity Dance Company
- Teatro Open Air Giuseppe di Stefano
- Helios Film
- Milano Film
- Mondadori
- Palazzo del Quirinale
- Alinari
- Tespi Film
- Bargello
- Artribune
Locations
- Florence
- Italy
- Verona
- Trapani
- Rome
- Ravenna
- Lake Garda
- Etna
- Mantua
- Campaldino
- Cattolica
- Val di Magra
- Castello dei Da Polenta
- Albalonga
- Siena
- Perugia
- Venice
- Sardinia
- Macerata