My Kid Could Paint That

Munch, Puberty, 1893

El Greco, Laocoön, 1610-1614

The head was twisted backwards: some cruel torsion
Forced face towards kidneys, and the people strode
Backwards, because deprived of forward vision.
Perhaps some time a palsy was wrung the head
Of a man straight back like these, or a terrible stroke -
But I've never seen one do so, and doubt it could.
-Inferno, Dante, Canto XX

This circle in Dante's Inferno houses fortune tellers and people who have searched for their future. These figures rest, or rather, are dis-configured and forced to face backward and walk forward. Especially disturbing to Dante, this heinous torture brings him to tears. The notes on Canto XX explain the controversies of this circle pertaining to Virgil. Known for his "reputation in the Middle Ages as a magician and the practice of telling the future through random selections from his writing," Dante uses this situations to explain their differences, which creating the longest lecture in Inferno.

El Greco shows another form of terrible torture in Laocoon, which depicts the story of his death. El Greco took this imagery from Virgil's Aeneid where Laocoon, Neptune's priest in Troy during the Trojan War, attempts to warn the Trojans of accepting the gift from the Greeks.  In the Aeneid Laocoon exclaims,"'Are you out of your minds, you poor fools? Are you so easily convinced that the enemy has sailed away? Do you honestly think that any Greek gift comes without treachery? What is Ulysses known for? Either this lumber is hiding Achaeans inside, or it has been build as an engine of war to attack our walls, to spy on our homes and come down on the city from above. Or some other evil lurks inside, do not trust the horse Trojans! Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.'" This strict warning to the Trojans was followed by a spear driven from Laocoon's hand into the "belly of the beast" and stirred up a loud noise throughout because of the hollow nature of the horse. his warnings were dismissed, but still upset the Goddess Athena.

Athena, offended by Laocoon's prediction of the horse, arranged for his fate to be met in a ruthless fashion. As he was praying at Neptune's altar, two serpents emerged from the water, and without hesitation, moved straight for Laocoon's sons, killing them both. Running to his sons, Laocoon was captured by the serpents, and they wrapped "Twice around his waist and twice around his neck," Virgil describes the rest of the attack, "Their heads held high. As the priest struggled to wrench himself free from the knotted coils, his headbands were soaked with venom and gore, and his horrible cries reached up to the stars." The story goes on to say how the people thought his punishment was well-deserved for having tampered with the Greeks gift, but those Trojans would not think that for long, because Laocoon's predictions, of course, came to pass.

The story of Laocoon and Canto XX both describe gruesome dismemberment of bodies and uncomfortable pain dealt unto the people. Dante describes the bodies of the psychics and fortune tellers in an unimaginable way, and El Greco illustrates the same horror through the Laocoon and his son's death. El Greco, known for his exaggerated proportions, allows the eye to view the elongated bodies in full pain and torture, much the same way that Dante's bodies are described in Canto XX.        

Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Fountain of Love, 1785

Oh living soul, who with courtesy and compassion voyage through black air visiting us who stained the world with blood: if heaven’s King bore affection for such as we are, suffering in this wind, then we would pray to him to grant you peace for pitying us in this, our evil end. 
- Inferno, Dante, Canto V

Fragonard’s characters approach the basin with eagerness, a sense of anticipation. Being tempted by the cherubs to drink from the fountain of love, the same fountain from where cupid dips his arrows. One sip of its sweet magic would bind the couple with a desire for one another.

This painting relates to Dante’s Inferno Canto V, through its subject matter. Fragonard creates a dark, soft atmosphere created by the light source and fog, and a gust that tears across the painting, which makes the couple’s presence seem forbidden as they tiptoe along the stone base. This wind adds to the rush of the moment. Her dress being pulled from her as she leans forward, the two of them connected by the beating of their hearts, exhilarated by the enormity of their actions. They seem like the lovers in the second circle of hell spun for eternity in a whirlwind, forever unable to touch each other, even though they are inches apart.

The painting represents a dark period of Fragonard’s life in the later part of his career. In the lead-up to The French Revolution Fragonard began to lose his clientele, for whom he painted the stunning settings and frivolousness of the aristocracy. The Fountain of Love returns to the subject he became most familiar with and the foundation of the majority of his work - desire. While the painting captures the moment of intimacy, he accomplishes it with a simplicity and darkness, unlike the rich colors seen in The Swing. This acts as a farewell, a reflection of his old patrons and the works he made for them.

Gustave Dore, Punishment of the Simonists, 1861

Out of the mouth of each one there protruded
The feet of a transgressor, and the legs

Cindy Sherman, Untitled #190, 1989

I saw deep down in the fosse people immersed in filth that seemed to drain from human privies. Searching it with my eyes I saw one there whose head was so befouled with [merda], you couldn't tell which one he was - layman or cleric.
- Inferno, Canto XVIII

Recently, phrases like "binders full of women", "47%", and the overnight popularity of an unemployed Big Bird have entered America's lexicon as well as it's trending hashtags. To the tune of Biden's chuckles, the presidential debates have raged on. Jumping from the subject of Libya to job creation to abortion, the debates have generated discussion as well as funny internet memes. For the first time, the antics are streamed live through Youtube  as well as broadcast on TV. Now, those without televisions or those who prefer to finish their calculus homework while listening to Romney reiterate his 5 point plan can be involved in the pathological mania.

Although the presidential debates can be informative, those watching have usually already picked sides. That decreases the quality of debating done, as candidates regurgitate their campaign promises with memorized talking points. Clash or direct refutation is non-existent. To a debater, this is incredibly frustrating. To Dante Alighieri, this is typical.

There's a special place in hell for panderers and seducers. Specifically, the ninth Bolgia in the eighth circle. There, all the karma built up from telling lies and half-truths come back to the deceivers in the form of human excrement. Although Dante's prose had the intentions of rivaling Virgil and Homer, he isn't immune to succumbing to a dirty joke here or there. It's especially telling when Dante slips from his flowery Italian to the coarser, more sarcastic vernacular. When listening to this passage being read aloud, I immediately recalled a grotesque photograph I ran into at the Museum of Modern Art. While running away from a room displaying Cindy Sherman's terrifying series on clowns, I came upon a gallery exhibiting her 1989 series titled Sex. With the cringe-worthy red noses and cartoon lips still etched into my psyche, I slowly realized with dread that I had escaped one frightening room just to find another. The audio recording describing the photographs told me in a cool British accent that Cindy Sherman went to great lengths to obtain real feces and vomit for her scenes. My own stomach began to roil as I beheld human skin spotted with blood and sores surrounded by mountains of junk and refuse. Untitled #190 ranks as one of the most disgusting.

What strikes me the most about this photograph that reminds me so much of the political debates is the pair of baby blues staring out at you. Those eyes could be the eyes of a politician we see every few weeks on television, buried under layers of his own lies. Even as he gasps for breath, his own deception chokes him, composed of nothing but digested facts. Dante and Cindy Sherman both draw a conclusion that I hope American voters across the nation discover for themselves; no matter how pretty a presidential candidate can talk, we must remember that, in the end, they're full of it.

Jacques-Louis David, The Sabines, 1799

Now let us pass - for Heaven also decrees that I should show another this savage road.
The demon's pride let loose his hook , which fell down at his feet,
 and said: "now no one strike him
- Inferno, Dante, Canto XXI

David's work portrays a great battle between the Romans and Sabines. During the night the Romans infiltrate the Sabine kingdom, abducting their daughters. To avenge the loss, the Sabine people declared war with Rome. Daughter of the Roman leader Romulus and married to the Sabine leader Tatiuos, Hersilia stands arms erect. The purity of her fragile white figure with her two daughters beneath her beg for this cruelty to cease. Taking from Hersilia's valor, the other mothers follow, pleading with each side to release their arms and deny any further bloodshed.

Amidst the total chaos of hell demons rage and threaten Dante and Virgil obstructing their passage into the netherworld. Dante, prodded by the demons forks, finds refuge beneath an outcropping, a brief respite from the anarchy of Hades. Virgil calls for the leader of this band of demons, Malacoda steps forth. Dropping his fork, Malacoda prohibits the torture of the men. And the pair decends further.

Thomas Hart Benton, Figure and Boats, 1920

I came into a place mute of all light,
Which bellows as the sea does in a tempest,
If by opposing winds 't is combated.

The infernal hurricane that never rests
Hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine;
Whirling them round, and smiting, it molests them.
-Inferno, Dante, Canto VII

As a local painter from a town outside of Kansas City, Missouri, Thomas Hart Benton grew up in the 1880s. His father did not approve of his painting, so he sent him off to military school. Benton's mother, on the other hand, was artistically inclined. He ended up devoting the majority of his life to art, obviously not taking his father's side. His work caused much controversy. Many people praised him for creating pieces that were realistic to the time period. Others thought of him as a drunk hillbilly or even an "okie baroque."

Benton regularly paints scenes of small town mayhem, which could be a product of his parents' relationship, or his own dealings with his parents. His father wanted Benton to follow in his footsteps and become a politician. Benton's mother supported him 100 percent She was totally invested in his life, emotionally and economically, at least until the day he married at the age of 33. Benton studied art at the Chicago Art Institute, and eventually moved to New York. Even as he established himself as an artist, Benton was still considered a drunken hillbilly.

In this piece, everything pulls and flows to the center. The circular patterns of the waves moves the eye in circles, like a whirlpool. Ending up at the person in the left hand corner. As one looks further into the piece, there is a house, standing on what seems to be a cliff. In Canto VII, Dante talks about a tower. In comparing the two works, the tower and house match up. This composition correlates with Dante's Inferno a great deal. With the winding river and the canoe at the base of the cliff, along with the figure depicting one of the many shades that are described in the text. Figure and Boats adds to the mystery and eeriness of Dante's Inferno.