Dante's Inferno illustrated on 34 violins: Leonardo Frigo's long project

The Divine Comedy ’sInferno cantos illustrated on musical instruments: Leonardo Frigo’s original and long project entitled Dante Alighieri - Inferno has come to an end. The artist handcrafted on thirty-three violins and a cello works inspired by the most significant passages of Dante’sInferno: each instrument is dedicated to a canto. A work to which Leonardo Frigo dedicated five years of his artistic activity, which ended precisely in December 2020: he combined music, poetry, art and craftsmanship into original pieces of art. The musical instruments bear symbols, scenes and key characters drawn fromDante’s imagery on their surface.

The project, which was completed in time for the celebrations of the seven hundredth anniversary of Dante’s death, is based on painstaking research and grew out of the artist’s passion for the divine poet. After taking notes on each canto, the artist tried to combine symbols, names and illustrations that tell theInferno of the Divine Comedy. The works were made entirely by hand, in ink, on the entire surface of the instruments, which were then painted. In addition, each violin is accompanied by a descriptive text, in Italian and English, that highlights and emphasizes all the illustrated details.

It is a project that stems from a keen desire to share, promote and make Italian culture known worldwide and in a different key. "Dante’sInferno has always inspired me since I was a child,“ said Frigo, ”I can probably say that it taught me to imagine and dream." For the artist,"innovation should also be sought in the ability to create new experiences that can engage and present something from a different point of view."

A video recounts the project at this link.

Ph.Credit Leonardo Frigo

Dante's Inferno illustrated on 34 violins: Leonardo Frigo's long project

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