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Post date: Apr 27, 2014 2:31:14 AM
For decades, the imagination of man has blossomed when faced with the challenge of depicting Heaven in art. The highly esteemed Italian poet Dante approaches this challenge by taking the readers of The Divine Comedy through Hell, Purgatory, and finally Heaven. Greatly increasing in beauty and ineffability, his proximity to God directly reflects the overwhelming nature of what he is seeing. Thus, as Dante the pilgrim ascends through the lofty spheres of heaven his ability to depict his journey clearly lessens. Whether Dante does this to inspire the reader or maintain the mystery of Heaven is uncertain. However when the poet and artist William Blake takes on the challenge of furthering Dante the poet’s vision, more can be taken from The Divine Comedy.
In William Blake’s “Dante Adorning Christ,” Blake is able to put paint to the readers imagination by bringing what Dante the poet “cannot find the words for” to life (Par. 14:105). In the painting, you can see Christ descending upon you, arms outstretched in crucifixion, surrounded by elegant flames. In one hand he holds a blue sphere of light, in the other a red sphere, and at his feet, a glowing yellow sphere. This symbolizes the celestial sphere’s and arrangements of the planets, which can also be seen in to circular form of the cloud like figures about Dante’s arms. The flames are like God’s love, with all the colors of the rainbow, the “rays of light crossed in the holy sign” encompass Christ in supreme beauty, inclusion, and understanding (Par. 14:101). The movement of his body and the flames is boldly depicted on the stained paper like details carved from marble. The dark black details contrasted with the light and elegant intensity of watercolors bring out both the nature of the flames, as previously stated, as well as the nature of Christ.
While the details of Christ’s body are sharp, the details of his face are elegant and fine, giving Christ a warm expression. Had Blake depicted Christ’s face as his body, it would be excessively chiseled and cold. Since it is softer, his face resembles flesh, just as his hair is also softer, and seems to be blowing in the celestial wind. Christ is being depicted in such a clear and defined way for he is close to God. As Dante the pilgrim rises in Heaven, the more he understands God, the more clearly he will be able to see Christ and the different shades of God’s love. Blake obviously reflects this understanding in his painting, by making the figure of Christ and the colors of the flames the most prominent features. Below Christ Dante kneels with his arms open, he is overwhelmed and in awe. Above him his vision of Christ is unlike anything he’s ever seen. By looking at the angle of his torso, clearly Christ is far above Dante the pilgrim, for Blake depicts him as though he is leaning backwards with his chest and heart forward, facing Christ. Arching his neck back and eyes up, Dante is “beholding Heaven’s whiteness glow with Christ” with his entire posture (Par. 14:108). The colors and light that vividly surrounds Christ is also seen faintly around Dante. This shows that while Christ and the celestial spheres about him are above the understanding of Dante, he is able to behold them and somewhat understand them. With no distracting images or symbols outside of Christ, the flames, and Dante, Blake makes it clear that in viewing Christ, there are no distractions. This contrast between the central religious figure and the kneeling man is common in many religious works of art where the sole spiritual focus is facing the divine. Just as the viewer of the painting is drawn to the detail of Christ’s being and the vivid color of the flames, Dante the pilgrim is also drawn to these aspects of Heaven, and the innate desire to understand God.
With both Dante the pilgrim, the readers of The Divine Comedy, and viewers of this painting completely engulfed by the image of Christ, Blake makes the intensity and focus of this journey blatantly clear. While using his syntactical tools to his best ability, Dante the poet clearly falls short with lack of words in many situations. When Dante says things like “here my memory defeats my art,” he is elevating the readers understanding of Heaven and the beauty of knowing God to the point of the impossible (Par. 14:103). The readers are left in a state of pure wonder. Their imaginations searching in a frenzy for what it could be that Dante the pilgrim simply cannot express, the readers are then inspired to make sense of Heaven through their own means. This is what led William Blake to paint “Dante Adorning Christ” pure inspiration from the endless possibilities of God’s love and Heaven.
With Blake’s interpretation of Dante the pilgrim’s encounter with Christ, one is able to better grasp Dante the poet’s poetry with imagery. For if the purpose of Dante the pilgrim’s journey is to face God, then Blake’s painting perfectly depicts the entirety of The Divine Comedy. From the dark beginnings of the Inferno to the very bright end of the Purgatorio: when facing God, man will fall to his knees, overwhelmed by the intensity of coming to terms with the infinite forgiveness and love of God. While some depictions of Heaven may help the readers understanding, too much detailed descriptions or interpretations of Heaven will hinder their ability to fully grasp it. For how can Heaven be eternal, mysterious, and ineffable if there were vivid descriptions and definite interpretations by Dante the poet. Leaving the reader open to their own interpretation, understanding, and ultimate experience of Heaven, Dante the poet is giving the reader the eternal, the mysterious, and the ineffable inspiration of Heaven.
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