Dante and Virgil Carried by the Monster Geryon 1822

Joseph Anton Koch's "Dante and Virgil Carried by the Monster Geryon" (1822) is a Romantic-era watercolor painting depicting a scene from Dante Alighieri's epic poem, "The Divine Comedy". The artwork depicts the poet Dante and his guide, Virgil, being carried by the monstrous Geryon, a creature with the head and claws of a lion, the body of a serpent, and the tail of a scorpion. The depiction of the monstrous Geryon is a powerful visual interpretation of the text. Geryon's serpent-like body is depicted with great detail, and the colors in the painting are soft and muted, conveying the sense of unease and danger that Dante and Virgil feel as they are carried through the air.