Dante and the Usurers (from Dante's "Divine Comedy") 1824 - 1827

Curator: Here we have William Blake’s sketch, "Dante and the Usurers" from Dante's "Divine Comedy," part of the Harvard Art Museums collection. It's a study in graphite, measuring about 14 by 20 inches. Editor: My initial impression is one of stark vulnerability. The thin lines barely contain the figures, emphasizing their desperation. Curator: Blake's series on Dante really captures the inner turmoil, doesn’t it? Look at the symbols he employs – the crowned figures with purses around their necks, the snake, signaling greed and corruption. Editor: Absolutely, those purses function as visual weights, dragging them down, symbolizing their earthly attachments. The raised hands, are they pleading or cursing? Or both? It's that ambiguity that makes it so haunting. Curator: Blake's Dante is so interesting because he's not just illustrating a story, he's diving headfirst into its moral and emotional core. It’s like he's channeling Dante's own fury and empathy onto the page. Editor: It speaks to the timelessness of Dante's themes—the struggle between good and evil, the consequences of our choices. Blake makes these almost medieval concerns so utterly fresh. Curator: Indeed, a powerful glimpse into Blake’s visual thinking. Editor: And a reminder that certain human failings, regrettably, persist.