The Circle of the Falsifiers: Dante and Virgil Covering their Noses because of the st

The Circle of the Falsifiers: Dante and Virgil Covering their Noses because of the st by William Blake, created in 1827, exemplifies the artist's intense, late-career engagement with spiritual literature and narrative complexity. Executed as a precise engraving, this print technique allowed Blake to render the highly dramatic, linear style characteristic of his interpretations of complex religious and literary texts.

Blake embarked on illustrating Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy late in life, a monumental project which culminated in some of his most profound graphic works. This scene specifically depicts the moment when Dante and his guide, Virgil, traverse the tenth bolgia of the Eighth Circle of Hell, reserved for Falsifiers, counterfeiters, and impersonators. The work’s title directly describes the action of the figures covering their noses, a necessity due to the vile physical decay and stench emanating from the tormented souls below. Blake’s rendering transforms Dante’s epic poetry into a densely populated, nightmarish vision of spiritual torment, demonstrating the artist’s unique ability to visualize the unseen.

Produced during the period spanning 1826 to 1850, this artwork reflects the continuing Romantic fascination with the sublime and the grotesque within British artistic circles. Blake’s dedication to linear exactitude and expressive form differentiated his artistic output from contemporary academic classicism, cementing his legacy in the history of prints. This important example of early nineteenth-century visionary printmaking is held within the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art. Today, reproductions of key works like The Circle of the Falsifiers are often widely available through public domain initiatives, ensuring Blake’s complex iconography remains accessible to scholars and the general public worldwide.