Dante and Beatrice (painting) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dante and Beatrice |
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| Artist | Henry Holiday |
| Year | 1883 |
| Medium | oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 142.2 cm × 203.2 cm (56.0 in × 80.0 in) |
| Location | Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool |
Dante and Beatrice is a famous painting from 1883 by an artist named Henry Holiday. You can see this beautiful artwork at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England. Many people think it's Holiday's most important painting. It's painted with oil on canvas, measuring about 142.2 centimeters (56 inches) tall and 203.2 centimeters (80 inches) wide. The gallery bought it in 1884.
Contents
What is the Painting About?
This painting tells a story from the life of a famous Italian poet named Dante Alighieri. It's based on his own book, La Vita Nuova, which he wrote in 1294. In this book, Dante describes his deep love for a woman named Beatrice Portinari.
The Story of Dante and Beatrice
Dante loved Beatrice very much, but he kept his feelings a secret. To hide his true love, he sometimes pretended to be interested in other women. This led to some gossip. The painting shows a moment when Beatrice found out about this gossip. She was upset and refused to speak to Dante when they met.
The scene takes place in Florence, Italy. Beatrice is walking with two other women near the Santa Trinita Bridge. Beatrice is wearing a white dress. Her friend, Monna Vanna, walks beside her, and Beatrice's maidservant is a little behind them.
Who Was Henry Holiday?
Henry Holiday was an English painter. When he passed away in 1927, people called him "the last Pre-Raphaelite." The Pre-Raphaelites were a group of artists who wanted to paint in a very detailed and colorful way, inspired by art before the time of Raphael.
Another famous Pre-Raphaelite artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, often painted scenes about the poet Dante. This likely inspired Holiday to paint his own version of Dante's story.
Holiday's Other Works About Dante
Henry Holiday painted other scenes from La Vita Nuova too. In 1860, he painted a picture of Dante and Beatrice meeting when they were children in Beatrice's father's garden. He also painted a portrait of Dante in 1875.
The Walker Art Gallery owns not only the finished "Dante and Beatrice" painting but also three sketches Holiday made for it. Two of these sketches show all the people in the painting, while the third is just of Dante by himself.
The Models for the Painting
To create the characters in the painting, Holiday used real people as models:
- The model for Beatrice was Eleanor Butcher.
- Milly Hughes posed for Monna Vanna.
- Kitty Lushington was the model for the maidservant.
How Did Holiday Make it Historically Accurate?
Henry Holiday wanted his painting to be as accurate as possible to how Florence looked in the 13th century. In 1881, he even traveled to Florence to do his own research!
He found out that the street along the River Arno, called the Lungarno, was paved with bricks back then. There were also shops in that area. You can see these details in the painting. He also learned that the Ponte Vecchio (another famous bridge, seen in the background) had been destroyed by a flood in 1235. It was being rebuilt between 1285 and 1290. That's why in the painting, the Ponte Vecchio is shown covered in scaffolding, just as it would have been during that time.
