Change of the Representation in the Illustrations and Paintings of Prophet Muhammad Made for Dante’s Inferno

Vildan Işık

Article Details

Change of the Representation in the Illustrations and Paintings of Prophet Muhammad Made for Dante’s Inferno

Authors:

Vildan Işık

Publisher:

Ege University

Main Topics:

Resim Tarihi | Sanat Tarihi

Journal:

Sanat Tarihi Dergisi Vol.32 Issue 1, pp.31-101

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

9/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001299161

pISSN:

1300-5707

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Italian Medieval poet Dante Alighieris Comedy, written in Italian at the beginning of the 14th century, using the Christian scriptures, the myths of the period, Islamic sources and his own imagination, consists of the Inferno Hell, Purgatorio Purgatory and Paradiso Heaven parts, respectively. It is a satire with political and philosophical aspects in which the story of a fictional journey to the other world, which is thought to be taken after death, is told through poetry. The visualization of Dante, in which he included the Prophet Muhammad in the Inferno, with various illustration techniques that started shortly after he wrote this eschatological narrative, has continued for almost seven hundred years. In this study; the illustrations of the Prophet Muhammad, made for or inspired by the Inferno, have been researched through visual and written sources, including manuscripts, frescoes, drawings and prints from the beginning of the 14th century to the present. There are three parts in the research: in the first part under the title of Rumors; in the second part under the title of Malebolgia, the general structure of hell described in the Inferno and Canto 28, which is mentioned about the Prophet, are mentioned. In the third part, titled Illustrations, there are manuscripts, frescoes, drawings and printmaking samples made from the 14th century, based on the lines of this canton, where we can see the figures representing the Prophet. After the 1950s, illustrations using deformation, abstraction and distortion were added to the expressive and mimetic representations in these illustrations, which have been going on for centuries, and there is also a representation of the Prophet Muhammad, which is open to connotation, blending the narrative in Inferno, which was made as an oil painting, although it was limited to a single example. The visualization of this eschatological narrative first appears in the manuscripts prepared on parchment with different dialects of Italian in the second quarter of the 14th century in various regions of Italy, and continues with murals in public spaces. After the printing press began to be used in the middle of the 15th century, parchment was replaced by paper and reproductions began with the use of sangin, charcoal, graphite, silver pen, ink and watercolor, as well as various printmaking techniques such as woodcut, metal printing, and lithography. With the translation of Comedy into other languages in the late 18th century, illustrators and artists from different countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the United States also painted Dantes lines. Photography in the 19th century and digital reproduction techniques in the 20th century are involved and a larger audience is reached. After the mid-20th century, figurative paintings based on mimetic and narrative; Prophet representations using abstraction, deformation or distortion are added. They are not mimetic and narrative-based and show that what is meant to be represented can be conveyed through other means of illustration. The only extraordinary example made in the 21st century is the evocative oil painting of Arrivabene, which blends the Christian, Muslim and Jewish narratives, as the image and the name he gave to the painting.

 Italian Medieval poet Dante Alighieris Comedy, written in Italian at the beginning of the 14th century, using the Christian scriptures, the myths of the period, Islamic sources and his own imagination, consists of the Inferno Hell, Purgatorio Purgatory and Paradiso Heaven parts, respectively. It is a satire with political and philosophical aspects in which the story of a fictional journey to the other world, which is thought to be taken after death, is told through poetry. The visualization of Dante, in which he included the Prophet Muhammad in the Inferno, with various illustration techniques that started shortly after he wrote this eschatological narrative, has continued for almost seven hundred years. In this study; the illustrations of the Prophet Muhammad, made for or inspired by the Inferno, have been researched through visual and written sources, including manuscripts, frescoes, drawings and prints from the beginning of the 14th century to the present. There are three parts in the research: in the first part under the title of Rumors; in the second part under the title of Malebolgia, the general structure of hell described in the Inferno and Canto 28, which is mentioned about the Prophet, are mentioned. In the third part, titled Illustrations, there are manuscripts, frescoes, drawings and printmaking samples made from the 14th century, based on the lines of this canton, where we can see the figures representing the Prophet. After the 1950s, illustrations using deformation, abstraction and distortion were added to the expressive and mimetic representations in these illustrations, which have been going on for centuries, and there is also a representation of the Prophet Muhammad, which is open to connotation, blending the narrative in Inferno, which was made as an oil painting, although it was limited to a single example. The visualization of this eschatological narrative first appears in the manuscripts prepared on parchment with different dialects of Italian in the second quarter of the 14th century in various regions of Italy, and continues with murals in public spaces. After the printing press began to be used in the middle of the 15th century, parchment was replaced by paper and reproductions began with the use of sangin, charcoal, graphite, silver pen, ink and watercolor, as well as various printmaking techniques such as woodcut, metal printing, and lithography. With the translation of Comedy into other languages in the late 18th century, illustrators and artists from different countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the United States also painted Dantes lines. Photography in the 19th century and digital reproduction techniques in the 20th century are involved and a larger audience is reached. After the mid-20th century, figurative paintings based on mimetic and narrative; Prophet representations using abstraction, deformation or distortion are added. They are not mimetic and narrative-based and show that what is meant to be represented can be conveyed through other means of illustration. The only extraordinary example made in the 21st century is the evocative oil painting of Arrivabene, which blends the Christian, Muslim and Jewish narratives, as the image and the name he gave to the painting.

 Italian Medieval poet Dante Alighieris Comedy, written in Italian at the beginning of the 14th century, using the Christian scriptures, the myths of the period, Islamic sources and his own imagination, consists of the Inferno Hell, Purgatorio Purgatory and Paradiso Heaven parts, respectively. It is a satire with political and philosophical aspects in which the story of a fictional journey to the other world, which is thought to be taken after death, is told through poetry. The visualization of Dante, in which he included the Prophet Muhammad in the Inferno, with various illustration techniques that started shortly after he wrote this eschatological narrative, has continued for almost seven hundred years. In this study; the illustrations of the Prophet Muhammad, made for or inspired by the Inferno, have been researched through visual and written sources, including manuscripts, frescoes, drawings and prints from the beginning of the 14th century to the present. There are three parts in the research: in the first part under the title of Rumors; in the second part under the title of Malebolgia, the general structure of hell described in the Inferno and Canto 28, which is mentioned about the Prophet, are mentioned. In the third part, titled Illustrations, there are manuscripts, frescoes, drawings and printmaking samples made from the 14th century, based on the lines of this canton, where we can see the figures representing the Prophet. After the 1950s, illustrations using deformation, abstraction and distortion were added to the expressive and mimetic representations in these illustrations, which have been going on for centuries, and there is also a representation of the Prophet Muhammad, which is open to connotation, blending the narrative in Inferno, which was made as an oil painting, although it was limited to a single example. The visualization of this eschatological narrative first appears in the manuscripts prepared on parchment with different dialects of Italian in the second quarter of the 14th century in various regions of Italy, and continues with murals in public spaces. After the printing press began to be used in the middle of the 15th century, parchment was replaced by paper and reproductions began with the use of sangin, charcoal, graphite, silver pen, ink and watercolor, as well as various printmaking techniques such as woodcut, metal printing, and lithography. With the translation of Comedy into other languages in the late 18th century, illustrators and artists from different countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the United States also painted Dantes lines. Photography in the 19th century and digital reproduction techniques in the 20th century are involved and a larger audience is reached. After the mid-20th century, figurative paintings based on mimetic and narrative; Prophet representations using abstraction, deformation or distortion are added. They are not mimetic and narrative-based and show that what is meant to be represented can be conveyed through other means of illustration. The only extraordinary example made in the 21st century is the evocative oil painting of Arrivabene, which blends the Christian, Muslim and Jewish narratives, as the image and the name he gave to the painting.

 İtalyan şairi Dante Alighierinin 14üncü yüzyıl başlarında Hristiyanlığın kutsal metinleri, Ortaçağ mitleri, İslami kaynaklar ve kendi hayal gücünden yararlanarak İtalyanca olarak yazdığı ve sırasıyla Inferno Cehennem, Purgatorio Araf ve Paradiso Cennet bölümlerinden oluşan Komedyası; ölümden sonra gidildiği düşünülen öte dünyaya yapılan kurgusal bir yolculuk hikayesinin şiirle anlatıldığı siyasi ve felsefi yönleri olan bir hicivdir. Infernoya Muhammed Peygamberi de dahil ettiği Dantenin bu eskatolojik anlatısını yazmasından kısa süre sonra başlayan çeşitli resimleme teknikleri ile görselleştirilmesi ise neredeyse yedi yüz yıldır devam etmektedir. Bu çalışmada; Inferno için veya ondan esinlenerek yapılan Muhammed Peygamber illüstrasyonları konu edilerek 14uncü yüzyıl başlarından günümüze bunların yer aldığı elyazması, fresk, çizim ve baskıresimler görsel ve yazılı kaynaklar üzerinden araştırılmıştır. Araştırmada üç kısım bulunmaktadır: Rivayetler başlığı altındaki ilk kısımda; Dantenin neden Muhammed Peygamberi Infernoda anlattığına, Malebolge başlığı altındaki ikinci kısımda ise Infernoda anlatılan cehennemin genel yapısı ile Peygamberden bahsedilen Kanto 28e değinilmiştir. İllüstrasyonlar başlıklı üçüncü kısımda ise bu kantonun dizelerine dayalı olarak 14üncü yüzyıldan günümüze yapılmış ve Peygamberi temsil eden figürleri görebileceğimiz elyazması, fresk, çizim ve baskıresim örnekleri yer almaktadır. Yüzyıllardır devam eden bu illüstrasyonlardaki anlatımcı ve mimetik temsillere 1950lerden sonra deformasyon, soyutlama ve distorsiyonun kullanıldığı illüstrasyonların eklendiği ayrıca tek bir örnekle sınırlı olsa da yağlıboya bir tablo olarak yapılan Infernodaki anlatı ile Müslüman anlatılarını harmanlamış çağrışıma açık bir Muhammed Peygamber temsili de görülmüştür.

Article Details

Change of the Representation in the Illustrations and Paintings of Prophet Muhammad Made for Dante’s Inferno

Authors:

Vildan Işık

Publisher:

Ege University

Main Topics:

Resim Tarihi | Sanat Tarihi

Journal:

Sanat Tarihi Dergisi Vol.32 Issue 1, pp.31-101

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

9/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001299161

pISSN:

1300-5707

Dante Alighieri

Divine Comedy

Inferno

Prophet Muhammad

Iconography

Divina Comedy

Caliph AliDante Alighieri

İlahi Komedya

Inferno

Muhammed Peygamber

İkonografi

Hz. Ali

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Vildan Işık

Publisher: Ege University

Main Topics: Resim Tarihi | Sanat Tarihi

Journal: Sanat Tarihi Dergisi Vol.32 Issue 1, pp.31-101

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 9/2023

Document Language: Turkish

Document ID (Org No.): 2001299161

pISSN: 1300-5707

Issues

Authors:

Vildan Işık

Publisher:

Ege University

Main Topics:

Resim Tarihi | Sanat Tarihi

Journal:

Sanat Tarihi Dergisi Vol.32 Issue 1, pp.31-101

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

9/2023

Document Language:

Turkish

Document ID (Org No.):

2001299161

pISSN:

1300-5707