The Painting by Domenico Di Michelino and Dante's Divine Comedy

In the painting by Domenico di Michelino Dante and His Poem the artist shows the three regions in the Christian afterlife. On the left is the procession of sinners being led down to the circles of Hell. Behind Dante the artist creates the seven terraces of Purgatory, with Adam and Eve representing Earthly Paradise on top.

Above Adam and Eve, is the sun and the moon that represent Heavenly Paradise. Ironically, the structure in the painting that the souls pass through as they descend into Hell is the Islamic house of prayer. In the poem, Dante singles out this building properly as being found in Hell.

You can see the souls in hell eternally pursuing a banner. In Dante's poem he states these are souls that are constantly pursued by wasps that sting them continuously.

Satan is depicted in Dante's poem as having three faces...one was in front, and each with a different color. It was fiery red. Satan is frozen in ice at the center of the earth according to the Dante poem. In the painting you see Satan as if he is in the midst fire and brimstone beneath the earth of the underworld. In Dante's underworld Satan is encased in ice because Satan is the antithesis of God.

The mountainous structure behind Dante is Purgatory. As Virgil and Dante climb the mountain, they find seven cornices on which penitent sinners get cleansed by God's grace.

The gate of Purgatory is guarded by an angel who is shown as an inset in the center of the cornices. The Angel uses the point of his sword to draw the letter "P" (signifying peccatum, sin) seven times on Dante's forehead.Dante must make his confession before he can be admitted through the gate.

There are seven sinful tendencies, which hinder man from being in the full harmony and will of God. These seven levels of purgatory correspond to the seven deadly sins. The artist has depicted these levels of Purgatory very well.

Each level of purgatory purges a particular sin in an appropriate manner. Souls move upwards since the intent of Purgatory is for souls to ascend towards God in Heaven.

The first level of Purgatory is where the sin of pride is punished. Those guilty of pride are shown carrying giant stones on their backs. These souls are unable to stand up straight.

The second terrace is where envy is punished. The souls have their eyelids stitched shut. The wear clothing that makes the soul indistinguishable from the ground

The third terrace is where wrath is punished. They individuals walk in acrid smoke where they learn how wrath blinds their vision and impedes their judgment

The fourth terrace is where sloth is punished. Those who were slothful in life can only purge this sin by being zealous in their desire for penance.

The fifth terrace is where greed as well as the prodigal is punished. Penitents lay face down confronting their attachment to earth-bound materialistic pursuits. .

It is here that the poets meet the soul of Statius who has completed his purgation and joins them on their ascent to paradise. The sixth terrace is populated by those guilty of gluttony are purged by abstaining from any food or drink. To sharpen the pains of hunger, the former gluttons on this terrace are forced to pass by cascades of cool water without stopping to drink.

The seventh and final terrace is for those guilty of lust. They are purged by burning in an immense wall of flames All of those who committed sexual sins, are purified by the "red ring of fire" depicted in the painting.

Dante now sees souls in burning fire. Virgil tells him that he must enter into the flames that burn but do not consume. This is his final cleansing and now Virgil's guidance and instruction come to an end as they reach the top of the mountain

At the top of the mountain they find the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve are the two figures present on the top of the cornices in the painting. The bands of color for Heaven radiate truth, goodness and gentleness. The primum Mobile is the outermost sphere revolving around the earth.

"Within the depthless deep and clear existence

of that abyss of light three circles shone-

three in color, one in circumference;

The second from the first, rainbow from rainbow;

the third, an exhalation of pure fire

equally breathed forth by the other two.

In the night sky shine three stars, faith, hope, and charity

Dante and Virgil, reach the top of the mountain. Lady Beatrice meets them there. Virgil mentions Lady Beatrice throughout the poem to encourage Dante. Lady Beatrice prepares Dante for his journey to Heaven. With Beatrice at his side, Dante get ready to go up to the peak of Mount Purgatory to the first of the heavens.

Dante moves upward through the spheres. Within each sphere there are the redeemed, perfected, and glorified Christians who God has perfected.

Theologians and others are located in the sphere of the Sun. These men enlightened their Christians and encouraged clear thinking about the works of God. Dante then soars beyond the planets, beyond the stars, and beholds the whole company of Heaven assembled together.

Outside these spheres is that of the fixed stars, then that of the Primum Mobile (the first moved thing, the sphere whose motion imparts motion to all the other spheres), and finally the Empyrean, the unimaginable boundless space that "has no 'where' but in the mind of God."

In the painting, we can see the sun and the moon that represent Heavenly Paradise and the vision of the glory of God Himself. And here the poem ends.