Dante running from the three beasts

William Blake’s illustrations for Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy have been described as the "glorious culmination" of his art. Written in the early 14th century, this epic poem recounts Dante’s imaginary pilgrimage through Hell and Purgatory to Paradise. Commissioned by his last patron, John Linnell, Blake produced 102 illustrations for the Divine Comedy between 1824 and his death in 1827. These drawings range from preliminary sketches to highly finished watercolors. Only seven of the compositions were engraved for Linnell’s proposed publication. Blake’s personal theology led him not only to illustrate but to comment upon, and even criticize, Dante’s Catholic interpretation of salvation, stating that "Dante saw Devils where I see none – I see only good." The richly colored Dante running from the Three Beasts depicts the opening incident in the story. Dante, fleeing the dark woods inhabited by ferocious animals that symbolize worldly sins, encounters the Roman poet Virgil, who becomes his guide through the many terrifying circles of Hell and Purgatory.

P.S. See here how Blake illustrated the world's most widely known book, the Bible! (His illustrations don't seem very religious though!)

P.P.S. Guys, we are looking for French translators, who would like to volunteer and help us to speed up translating DailyArts. We are looking for people who had done some translations before, are native speakers in their language and know English on c1/c2 level. If you're interested, please contact Ela, here :)