
The Divine Comedy
The Wood of the Self-Murderers
It is inspired by the Thirteenth Canto of Inferno. Those years, one of the greatest sins was suicide as life was the most important gift of God to man. So, whoever committed suicide was denied this important gift and his punishment was to be trapped in tree trunks. Virgil and Dante enter this strange wood filled with black and gnarled trees. Dante hears many cries of suffering but cannot see the souls that utter them. Virgil cryptically advises him to snap a twig off one of the trees. He does so, and the tree cries out in pain, to Dante’s amazement. Blood begins to trickle down its bark. The souls those who were violent against themselves, or their possessions have been transformed into trees.
Date
2021
Dimensions
180 cm x 290 cm
Technique
Oil on canvas
Location
Private collection