The Circle of the Traitors; Dante's Foot Striking Bocca degli Abbate. Inferno, canto XXXII

The Circle of the Traitors; Dante's Foot Striking Bocca degli Abbate. Inferno, canto XXXII by William Blake English, 1757-1827, captures one of the most brutal encounters in Dante Alighieri’s Inferno. Created in 1827, the year of Blake’s passing, this image is part of his ambitious, ultimately unfinished, series illustrating the Divine Comedy. The scene is set in Caina, the first circle of Cocytus, where traitors against kin are eternally encased in ice. The composition focuses on the dramatic moment when Dante, guided by Virgil, inadvertently kicks the head of the frozen Bocca degli Abbati, a notorious Florentine traitor, causing a flurry of ice.

Blake executed this work using a demanding technique: a hand-colored engraving on India paper, which was then laid down on a thicker support paper, a process known as chine collé. This method allowed the English artist to achieve both the sharp linearity necessary for narrative clarity and a somber, rich color palette befitting the subject matter. The dynamic use of line and form underscores the horror of the scene and the visceral reaction of the pilgrim Dante.

The focus on visionary spiritualism and complex literary subjects was a hallmark of Blake’s output, ensuring these prints became iconic examples of British Romantic art. His interpretation emphasizes the raw agony of the eternally damned and the poet's own moral development. This powerful example of Blake’s late career is preserved within the distinguished prints collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.