The Darkness That Is Light. Thoughts from an exhibition

The Dante exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, for the 700th anniversary year of 2021, brought together some of the Divine Comedy’s greatest illustrators, living and dead, from Monika Beisner to William Blake and Sandro Botticelli. Here are my reflections on these studies in line and light depicting darkness and life.

Modern works discussed include those by Monika Beisner, Dante and Beatrice in the Earthly Paradise (2001) and Dante and Beatrice and the Mystic Rose of Paradise (2001); Rachel Owen, The Fraudsters (2010-16); and Geoff MacEwan, The Earthly Paradise (2010). 

For more on my book, Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey, and other vlogs see www.markvernon.com