Ancient paint made using glue as a binder loses chromatic intensity as it dries, fades readily over time, and forms a fragile paint layer. But it has been popular at times.
Blake
First Dante and Virgil have to negotiate the three-headed monster dog Cerberus, guarding Hell, then the stinking mud containing gluttons.
Passing Minos, who directs the dead to the right circle for their sins, they enter the circle for those guilty of lust. There they hear the story of Paolo and Francesca and their violent deaths.
Dante and Virgil enter the first circle of Hell, Limbo, where those who never sinned but weren’t baptised in the Christian faith are confined.
Virgil leads Dante through the gate of Hell, with its inscription ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here’. Charon is persuaded to carry them across with the souls of the dead to enter Hell.
The first modern synthetic pigment, from 1704. Adopted by Canaletto, Hogarth and many others since, and still offered in many paint ranges.
Dante is wandering lost in a dark wood, his way out obstructed by wild animals. He asks a man to help, only to discover he’s the ghost of Virgil and they’re on their way to Hell.
If there’s one book every head of state and leader should read, it’s Dante’s Inferno. Introduction to a new series showing paintings of this first part of his Divine Comedy.
The assassination of Julius Caesar occurred when Jupiter had decided his life was already completed, so Venus rescued his soul from the Senate House and he was transformed into a star.
Ultramarine blue for Mary’s cloak, red for the Passion, cardinals and the scarlet woman. Other colour codes, including their importance in multiplex narrative.
The Eclectic Light Company 