The Fifteen Days of May: Study for Dante's Inferno, Canto VIII 1968

Curator: Michael Mazur created this piece, "The Fifteen Days of May: Study for Dante's Inferno, Canto VIII." Editor: My first impression is chaotic desperation. The figures are emerging, fading, locked in some nightmarish forward march. Curator: Exactly. Mazur really captures the torment of Dante's vision, evoking the psychological weight of moral failings. Editor: The lack of clear lines, the blurring, contributes to that feeling—like a half-remembered nightmare pressing in. Are those figures supposed to be damned souls? Curator: Indeed, Mazur uses the imagery of the body in extremis to explore themes of suffering and the human condition. Notice how the faces become masks of agony. Editor: I guess what’s really striking is the suggestion of movement, of continuous suffering, of not being able to escape. Curator: It's a haunting piece that leaves us contemplating the consequences of our choices. Editor: Yes, something to ponder long after we move on from here.