Visions of Dante Symposium

About This Event

"Visions of Dante" is timed to mark the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri (1265–1321). This exhibition of works in various media presents the Divine Comedy as an inexhaustible source for artists and other visual thinkers. Manuscripts and incunabula as well as later illustrated editions and portfolios by Giani, Flaxman, Blake, Doré, Dalí, and many others are accompanied by works on paper, paintings, photographs, sculpture, and film by artists who treat Dante’s themes as catalysts for their own explorations of contemporary culture, mores, and self. This daylong symposium will present speakers considering the ongoing impact of Dante as a visual poet—from the Italian Renaissance reception of Dante via early printed editions of the Divine Comedy, to the dialogue of Black literature with Dante’s images and ideas, to a mapping of Dante’s vision onto the American postindustrial cityscape. It will also feature a tour and discussion of the exhibition with the curators. Participate in person or virtually. Learn more at the Johnson Museum event page.