Early illuminated manuscripts of the Divine Comedy exhibit a diverse array of formats. In this article, art historian Elizabeth C. Teviotdale presents five notable examples from the fourteenth century to illustrate the various methodologies employed by book artists in their interpretations of the poem.
We want to thank everyone who has followed our journey into the world of The Divine Comedy, taking a closer look at George Cochrane’s artistic process in completing ‘La Divina Commedia – The New Manuscript’
George wanted to create a new edition that recalled many of the things that were visible in the time of Dante: every move the artist made was a careful choice.
“That connection of handwriting, telling a story in sequence, where you use words and pictures to tell a story, is a very strong connection.”
The way Dante’s work first appeared was in manuscripts, so handwriting is a part of the way that his poem had first appeared.
As George works tirelessly to complete his new Divine Comedy, he always looks to 700 years of Art inspired by Dante.
“My daily routine was modeled on the Medieval monks’: I have kept to a rigid schedule, waking before dawn to scribe my manuscript pages. Each page took me about 1.5 hours to complete. I would write, every single day for months, as many lines as I could complete before going to work.”
Like many love stories, artist George Cochrane’s is about overcoming impossible odds.
Dante’s Reimagined Divine Comedy Bursts Forth from the Pen of Artist George Cochrane. Information on Prices and on the Upcoming Kickstarter Campaign.