Vincenzo Petroncini Gozzini | La Divina commedia, 1846 | Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library: Fiske Dante Collection
Dante Alighieri’s 14th-century epic poem Divina Commedia has had an incalculable impact on Western culture, not least through its inspiration of visual artists. After all, Dante’s descriptions of grotesque figures, fantastic landscapes, and inventive punishments virtually beg to be depicted visually.
Now everyone can view and download more than 1,000 of these images from eleven editions of the poem published between 1487 and 1846 in the Cornell: Divine Comedy Image Archive collection in Artstor, courtesy of the Cornell University Library. The library plans to make available a total of approximately 2,000 images from editions dating through 1921.