Dante and Virgil

Dante and Virgil is an exceptional early work by Edgar Degas, created in 1857 during a period when the artist was deeply engaged with classical and literary themes. This piece is executed in the demanding medium of etching and drypoint on laid paper. Crucially, this specific impression represents the second state of three and is currently the only known surviving example, underscoring its historical value within the history of Degas’s experimentation with prints.

The artwork depicts the two titular men, Dante Alighieri and the poet Virgil, referencing the epic journey through the underworld detailed in the Divine Comedy. While Degas is famously associated with Impressionism and scenes of modern Parisian life later in his career, this early print demonstrates his profound commitment to mastering traditional drawing and composition, often utilizing literary subjects popular in 19th-century history painting. His careful study of line quality and tone through printmaking techniques reveals a dedication to draftsmanship that would inform his subsequent oeuvre.

Degas utilized the etching needle for fine detail and employed the drypoint technique, which scrapes directly into the plate, to achieve rich, velvety black lines that characterize the shadowy atmosphere surrounding the two figures. This attention to detail reflects the highly precise nature required of effective printmaking. This extremely rare example of the artist's early experiments in graphic arts is housed in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. As an important institutional holding and a historical print, reproductions of the work are often accessible for scholarly study under public domain guidelines.