The Divine Comedy

Dante’s Inferno Canto VI (13-15) Cerberus 2016 – Oil on canvas –

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Canto VI Cerberus 2016

The Divine Comedy (Illustration)

Dante awakens in the 3rd circle.

Cold dirty rain-fall, mixing with heavy hailstones, pounding down, finally, streaking the nude bodies of the condemned souls lying supine in the filthy mud.  (epic poetry of Dante Alighieri)

Cerberus, the three-headed, dog-like worm beast stands over the souls clawing at the slightest movement made by the supine lying in the filth.

The process of the painting is below.

 

 

Drawing for Canto VI

Drawing for Canto VI

 I did a few drawings like this one above and a watercolor.

 

Canto VI Cerberus 2015

Canto VI Cerberus 2015

Next, I painted a similar version on a canvas with egg tempera to start with.

On Canvas

On Canvas

I started building up shape and color

Egg tempera

Egg tempera

 Then I changed my mind about something

 

Building up the shapes

Building up the shapes

I wanted a frontal view of the mouth

Almost finished

I put everything more or less where I wanted it

The Divine Comedy

Canto VI (13-15) Cerberus 2016

And then I changed my mind again

That’s what I like about art

 

Dante’s Inferno Canto VI (13-15) Cerberus 2016 – Watercolor on paper –

Posted on by

The Divine Comedy (Illustration)

Dante awakens in the 3rd circle.

Cold dirty rain-fall, mixing with heavy hailstones, pounding down, finally, streaking the nude bodies of the condemned souls lying supine in the filthy mud.

Cerberus, the three-headed, dog-like worm beast stands over the souls clawing at the slightest movement made by the supine lying in the filth.

canto-vi
Dante’s Inferno Canto VI (13-15) 2016

This is my first draft for a tempera under painting which will finally become an oil-resin painting.

I like to start with what I see in the mind’s eye when I read Canto VI, staying true to what I read.

 You’ll have to read Canto VI of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri to find out what each circle holds and why they are there.