Dante Today

Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture

Cartoonist Steve Bell’s “Brexit Hell”

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Steve-Bell-Brexit-Hell-Cartoons-TreacheryIn early December 2018 British cartoonist Steve Bell published a series of Dante-inspired images in his If… cartoon strip. Adapting Doré’s illustrations of Cocytus (with one addition from the Malebolge), Bell’s cartoons comment on the Parliamentary Debate over Brexit. Contributor Nick Havely glosses, “[the cartoons] depict Theresa May’s journey through ‘Brexit Hell’ accompanied by Arlene Foster (leader of the N. Ireland ultra-Protestant DUP on whom May is dependent for her majority). The Dantean sequence began on 29 November and seems to have culminated last Thursday [6 December] in an encounter with Trump as Lucifer.”

The If… cartoons can be viewed on The Guardian‘s website at the following links: Nov 29, Dec 3, Dec 4, Dec 5, and Dec 6.

Contributed by Nick Havely

Sirante’s recent graffiti in Rome (2018)

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This piece by Sirante is in protest of the Giro d’Italia beginning in Israel. Note Dante and Virgil in the poster, watching today’s Inferno.

The image is modeled on Gustave Doré’s illustration of the violent against God in Inferno 14.

Contributed by Virginia Jewiss 

Vittorio Tranini Fresco, Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Lugano)

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Basilica-Sacred-Heart-Lugano-Switzerland-Dante-Fresco-Vittorio-Tranini
Photo credit Giacomo Berchi (6/13/2016)

Fresco of Dante by Vittorio Tranini, Basilica del Sacro Cuore, Lugano, Switzerland. Contributor Giacomo Berchi gives the following description: “A small frame in the right transept of the Basilica, under the mosaic of St. Francis. In it there are a portrait of Dante, deliberately inspired by Doré’s one, into which there is the capital letter ‘N’ of the quote from Par. XI, 106-08: ‘Nel crudo sasso intra Tevere ed Arno / da Cristo prese l’ultimo sigillo / che le sue membra du’anni portarno’. Frescos painted by Vittorio Tranini between 1934 and 1954.”

Contributed by Giacomo Berchi (Istituto di Studi Italiani, USI, Lugano, CH)

Dante’s Inferno Bicycle Playing Card Deck

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Bicycle Dante's Inferno“The Inferno is a customized 56 card black and metallic ink playing card deck printed by USPCC and inspired by Dante Alighieri’s literary classic The Divine Comedy.

“Three months in the making, each of the Jacks, Queens, and Kings represents a major figure from The Inferno.

“Each completely original character was designed as a modern interpretation that is true to the text and framed after the most famous ‘Inferno’ Illustrations created by renowned artist Gustave Dore in the 19th Century.  Staying true to that vision, we have created images utilizing he original Dore plates for our backgrounds.”    —Bicycle Inferno Kickstarter

View images of some of the cards here.

Contributed by Iris McComb (Bowdoin College ’14)

Go Nagai, Mao Dante (1971)

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mao-dante-go-nagai-divine-comedyConsidered one of the most important authors of Japanese manga, Go Nagai is creator of a Dante-inspired comic series called Mao Dante (also known as Demon Lord Dante in English). Nagai published the first series in 1971, and he has revisited these Dantesque themes, characters, and images in several series since (among them his 1972 anime series Devilman). Nagai’s illustrations were originally inspired by the dramatic 19th century lithographs Gustave Doré produced for the Divine Comedy. In 2017, it was announced that J-Pop would re-release Mao Dante (see here).

See also Dante Today‘s posts on Nagai’s Dante Shinkyoku and Devilman Lady.

Click here for a discussion of Go Nagai’s work in relation to three other Dante-inspired graphic novelists (article in Italian).

Contributed by Andrea Sartori

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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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