Dante Today

Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture

Graffiti Portrait of Dante in Naples

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This graffito, which is located in Naples, represents a stylized representation of Dante Alighieri. At the top left corner of the work, the phrase “fatti non fumo” (facts not smoke) is included — this could relate to the famous line “fatti non foste a viver come bruti, / ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza” (Inf. 26.119-120: “you were not made to live your lives as brutes, / but to be followers of worth and knowledge”), which is spoken by Ulisse in the Eighth Circle of Hell.     — ALDAM, Dante Graffiti, Via dei Tribunali, Napoli.

Psychedelic Dante by Genia Chef

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“The artist Genia Chef creates a new series of works with the title Psychedelic Dante, dedicated to the immortal poem The Divine Comedy by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.”    — Genia Chef’s portfolio.

Born in Aktjubinsk, Kazakhstan, Genia Chef is a painter working in Berlin, Germany. Psychedlic Dante is part of his series Academy of Immortality (2020).

The Boy and the Heron (2023 Film)

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Image credit Studio Ghibli

Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s new movie The Boy and the Heron, which has premiered in theaters on December 8, 2023, under the production of Studio Ghibli, tells the story of a young boy named Mahito following the loss of his mother during the Pacific War as he discovers a ruined tower. This movie has also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture in 2024.

In the words of contributor Dario Galassini, “Guided by a peculiar grey heron, Mahito enters and explores the tower – from the inside, it looks somewhat between an old ruin, an immense library, and a magician’s sanctuary. The portal leading to the library bears the inscription ‘fecemi la divina potestate,’ a Dantean quote from the inscription over the gate of Hell (Inf. III, 5), implying that the tower was not built by men but rather by the divine. Through this portal, the adventures of Mahito unfold as he later accesses an underworld of sorts.”

For more information about the film, see the reviews on Letterboxd and Metacritic.

Contributed by Dario Galassini.

Isabel Greenberg’s The River of Lost Souls (2013 graphic short story)

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“The river Styx, stinking and sluggish and black as tar runs between the living, breathing world and the Kingdom of the dead. Do you see that tiny little boat? In that boat is my husband. Believe it or not, he’s a God.”    —Isabel Greenberg, “The River of Lost Souls”

The image above is the first panel of a graphic short story produced by artist Isabel Greenberg for The Guardian in 2013. Read the full story here.

Libby Hague’s Work Surrounding the Theme of Sublimation

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“‘Over time my father who was a physicist and an engineer, could no longer find his way home. Despite his forgetfulness (Alzheimer’s) he always delighted in the idea of sublimation. ‘Do you know what sublimation is?’ he would ask. ‘Tell me again,’ I would answer. ‘Sublimation is when ice is transformed directly into a gas without melting. It seems to skip this intermediate step and just disappears.’

“Sublimation combines two bodies of work. The first, Simple Gifts, is a woodcut installation that began as a response to migration crises and broadened into a story of people in desperate circumstances seeking a better life by helping each other and themselves. Its three sections are modeled on Dante’s Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso, a descent into brutality, an escape story and a resting place. The resting place is also a vision of heaven, that is, the hope of reuniting with family and friends.”    —Libby Hague, SNAP Gallery, “My Story of Sublimation”, akimbo, April 8, 2023

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How to Cite

Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante’s Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.

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