My Kid Could Paint That

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.        

Vatican City Museum Spiral Staircase, 1854

Through me you enter into the city of woes,
Through me you enter into eternal pain,
through me you enter the population of loss.
Justice moved my high maker, in power divine,
wisdom supreme, love primal. no things were before me not eternal; eternal I remain
Abandon all hope, you who enter here.
- Inferno, Dante, Canto III, Lines 1-7.

Yikes. 

This quote would definitely be a cruel opener for a final exam. Or a very clear warning for Dante to get out of there. (Too bad Virgil’s apparently an optimist and encourages him to enter. Double yikes.) This quote graces the Gates of Dis, or the Entrance to Hell, and serves as a final nail in the coffin that any sinner that manages to enter these gates has no need to retain hope for escape. It’s a miracle Dante doesn’t swoon at this warning. 

Because Dante describes Hell as one of many levels with different types of sinners on each level, almost like a spiral down to the worst, most dismal part, I chose the staircases of Vatican City’s museums as a representation of the quote. Renown for their classic spiral down to the bottom, it reminded me of the the seemingly spiral descent into hell. But it's also beautiful, both the stairs and hell in a strange way. The pain and woes of hell bring an odd sense of beauty. It's the mixture of the different levels of pain and sins that meld together to create this intricately designed hell known as Dante's Inferno. Perhaps it's the beauty of the complexity that attracts me to the entrance of hell,and its disconsolate words create a dangerous image that's chilling and beautiful . 

I think the Vatican City Museum Staircase represents it well with the colors the designers use. It starts off as a light gray and slowly changes hues to a darker but warm brown. It's gorgeous and a little bit intimidating.  

Although the Vatican City museums clearly aren't as frightening as the quote, the style of the stairs are intricately made and the seemingly perfect spiral down to each level seem to give a different feel on each level - just like in Dante’s Inferno.

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

To Chiron, near you there; in evil hour,

Then touched he me, and said: "This one is Nessus,

Who perished for the lovely Deianira,

And for himself, himself did vengeance take.

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.

As each of these was laboring to rake
His nails all over himself - scratching and digging
For the great fury of the itch they tried to slake,

Which has no other relief: their nails were snagging
Scabs from the skin as a knifeblade might remove
Scales from a carp, or as if the knife were dragging.
- Inferno, Dante, Canto XXIX

These lines in this canto particularly made me shudder. Not being able to relieve an itch - to me - would be insufferable. I can understand how awful this would be because there have been times when I have not been able to get to an itch on my leg or when the bottom of my foot itches and my shoe blocks me from scratching it. I can only imagine how unbearable this would be if it lasted forever. The other circles after this one are much worse, but I can't imagine what it would be like to be stabbed by snakes or mauled or rained on by fire. 

I also find this method of torture in Hell interesting because this method has been used to torture people in life. The Chinese water torture was used as a form of torture where a drop of water would be placed on the victim's nose and made to itch. The person was restrained from itching it. This method, while extremely cruel, became very effective as the victim was driven insane from not being able to scratch their nose. They would give any information to escape the torture, even if the information was taking blame for a crime. The idea of an unscratchable itch used in this canto is interesting.

The above painting, which is about the conversion of St. Paul connects the two ideas. The people seem to be laid about similarly to the canto image by Gustave Dore we viewed in class while reading. Specifically the man lying on the ground. Also the water in the background of the painting connects with the idea of the Chinese water torture in which water is used to bring about the terrible itching sensation, which is the hell in the canto.

Hieronymus Bosch, Procession to Calvary, ca. 1515

Crowded. Chaotic. Overflowing. Faces and figures flood the canvas of Bosch's Procession to Calvary, creating a sense of bedlam. The piece feels uncomfortable as one scans the visages, the bulging eyes and open mouths. Then, one spies Christ's face. The closed eyelids, the shut mouth, the face devoid of expression and wrinkle - they all communicate serenity and calm. A visual oasis in a desert of panic. He's welcome refuge from the movement and loudness  he stands out among the masses because he lacks the frantic, overwhelming energy of the surrounding figures. Silent and calm, his simpleness separates him.

Dante's The Inferno holds within its pages a dark parallel of this concept. In Canto XIV, while journeying through the seventh circle, Dante and Virgil come upon a massive crowd of tortured souls, stumbling naked through a desert, cracked and barren, moaning in torment as fire rains down on them. They all squirm, whimper, and rage against their eternal punishment. All except one, who lies prone on his back, staring up in unflinching defiance against God. He alone refuses to acknowledge the pain, and silently focuses his hatred upon the heavens. Unmoving and unrepentant, his inaction separates him.

Elsheimer, The Flight into Egypt, 1609

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.