The Creation of Dali's Divine Comedy

In 1950, Salvador Dalí was invited by the Italian government to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the birth of Dante Alighieri, Italy’s most famous poet, by creating a series of illustrations for Dante’s masterpiece, Divina Commedia. Dante’s epic poem is considered one of Italy’s national treasures.

Written in first person, it describes Dante’s journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio) and Heaven (Paradiso) in 100 verses, so called cantos. The poet Virgil guides him through Inferno and Purgatorio, while Beatrice, Dante’s ideal woman, takes him through Paradiso. Beatrice was a woman from Florence whom Dante had met in childhood and admired from afar.

At a deeper level the story represents, allegorically, the journey of life in the search of purpose and higher values.

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) was a great poet and a master of Italian literature. The Divine Comedy is a milestone in the history of European literature. It was the first literary narrative not written in Latin, as it was customary during the Middle Ages, but used the common Italian language widely spoken in Tuscany.

Learn more about the Divine Comedy suite and how it was created.

The Divine Comedy - Purgatorio

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Fallen Angel

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Ship of Souls

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Negligent Ones

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Virgil's Reproaches

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Death by Violence

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Princes of the Blossoming Valley

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Guardian Angels of the Valley

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Dream

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Proud Ones

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, A Spirit Questions Dante

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Leaving the Terrace of Anger

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, "Dante's Dream" unsigned

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Avarice and Prodigality

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Source

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Prodigality

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Gluttony

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Tree of Penitence

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Mounting the Seventh Terrace: Lust

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Last Words of Virgil

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Divine Forest

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Meeting of Dante and Beatrice

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Announcement of the Great Event

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Dante's Confession

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Earthly Paradise

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Dante Purified

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Envy

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, In the Cloud of Angry Ones

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Indolent Ones

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Fourth Terrace

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Meeting of Two Groups of Lustful Ones

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Beauty of Sculptures

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, The Second Terrace

Salvador Dali, Original Wood Engraving, Virgil's Face