Illustrated by an anonymous artist from Florence, copied from a work probably by Francesco Traini (ca. 1470) and inspired by Dante’s Inferno.
The Inferno, after the Fresco in the Camposanto of Pisa, c. 1480/1500 Web (National Gallery of Art).
“Satan”
This print is a copy of a fresco at the Camposanto Monumentale of Pisa, inspired by (even if not accurately portrayed) by the description of Lucifer by Dante in the 34th canto of his Inferno, which narrates the poet’s journey through Hell, guided by the Roman Virgil.
Satan, at the center of Hell, torments the souls of the sinners imprisoned there. In Dante he has three heads and great wings, both of which are absent here—although note the mouth in his abdomen, as also seen in the Biblical print. The demons around him are similarly drawn, being roughly humanoid but with grotesque faces and horns. This image of the Devil— Satan—is clearly influenced by Dante’s literary tradition, especially in the positioning, but the older folk iconography remains evident in both Satan and the demons surrounding him.
Lorraine Steigner