Conception and progress of the manuscript Divine Comedy Illustrated by Botticelli

lucifer s second drawing botticelli inferno xxxiv. lucifer s picture, spans across 2 pages, , lies outside text-illustration structure, unifying narrative of series. illustrates full story of inferno canto xxxiv , shows lucifer s geographical position in hell.

it thought botticelli s drawings commissioned lorenzo di pierfrancesco de medici, important patron of artist. 16th-century writer known anonimo magliabecchiano says botticelli painted dante on parchment lorenzo, makes sound if completed work. alternatively drawings have may have been different set botticelli s own use , pleasure, conclusion of ronald lightbown.

although printed , illustrated book rapidly replacing traditional , expensive illuminated manuscript in last decades of 15th century, grandest bibliophiles still commissioning manuscripts, , continued next century, artists such giulio clovio (1498–1578), perhaps last major artist manuscript illuminator.

the drawings illustrate manuscript of dante s divine comedy. entire thematic sequence of each canto supposed illustrated own full-page drawing botticelli, unprecedentedly ambitious conception. normally, 15th centuury, single incident shown in each framed illustration in illustrated dantes, other narrative works. botticelli combining tradition another, continuous narrative, recurrent incidents shown, unframed , in margin below text. principal figures of dante, virgil , beatrice appear several times in image.

there 2 additional drawings, map of hell preceding inferno, , double-page drawing of lucifer depicts dante s , virgil s descent hell. text written on reverse of drawings, on same page next drawing. usual, text completed before illustrations begun, omitting major capital letters illuminated.

the exact date of creation of drawings unknown agreed produced on period of several years, , stylistic development has been detected. estimates vary between start around mid-1480s last approximately decade later, , period extending between 1480 , 1505 (by time lorenzo di pierfrancesco dead). botticelli never completed task. many of images not drawn , illumination completed 4 of them. however, drawings of such artistry , beauty, have been described central botticelli s artistic achievement , no less important primavera. represent far bulk of surviving drawings botticelli. of small number of other sheets surviving, none relate directly surviving paintings.

botticelli thought have started drawings @ least following text sequence. drawing canto of inferno has figures @ larger scale used in later cantos, end of purgatorio. earlier drawings inferno completed, , detailed, cantos ii vii, xi , xiv missing, though made botticelli. have text pages last cantos, paradiso, xxxi xxxiii, drawings never begun. differing degrees of completion, , canto numbers , first lines of matching text inscribed on sequences of pages not others, complicate understanding botticelli s progress, , have been extensively debated.