The Drawings and Prints Cabinet at Palazzo Rosso preserves most of the graphic models created by painter and engraver Bartolomeo Pinelli in preparation for the publication of his illustrated Divine Comedy, of which the museum's collection also includes the three volumes of engravings. The illustrations for the three canticles were created by the Roman artist between 1824 and 1826, with a selection of the most significant episodes accompanied by the corresponding tercets from Dante's poem. These drawings are of particular interest as they allow us to retrace the author's creative process, enabling a direct comparison between the quickly sketched pencil drawings and the published prints. In this case, in the engraved version, Pinelli chose to eliminate the text of the two inscriptions initially planned in the preparatory sheet.
Illustrating the otherworldly journey, the artist imagines himself as Dante's companion and inserts his portrait in several episodes, including the frontispieces (Priarone 2024, pp. 51-52). Here he chose to depict himself in antique clothing, with a book in his hands, his gaze turned towards the bust of the poet and his inseparable dogs beside him, creating an image that ironically combines a lofty register with the almost colloquial attitude with which he seems to address the great poet whose work he is illustrating. Graphite pencil drawing on white paper depicting the frontispiece of Dante's third canticle, containing a portrait of the author, who is depicted in ancient clothing, leaning on a bust of the Supreme Poet, accompanied by two dogs. In the background is a river, crossed on the right by Charon's boat and on the left, inside a cave, Cerberus.
