Dante on the Back of Nessus 1808

Curator: Joseph Anton Koch's "Dante on the Back of Nessus" really throws you into the depths, doesn’t it? It’s an etching, full of meticulously rendered figures. Editor: It's like a fever dream, all swirling bodies and monstrous forms. It feels… claustrophobic. Curator: Absolutely. Koch is tapping into the drama of Dante’s Inferno, specifically Canto XII. The centaur Nessus carries Dante through the river of boiling blood. Editor: Boiling blood! And you can almost feel the heat radiating off this print. The details are incredible, even the expressions on the faces of those tormented souls. Curator: The print really emphasizes the violence inherent in Dante’s vision of hell. Koch's interest in classical forms combines with his own Romantic sensibility. Editor: It makes you wonder about the artist, doesn't it? What darkness did Koch see in the world to render such a scene with such intensity? Curator: Koch was working in a time of great upheaval. "Dante on the Back of Nessus" seems to reflect that turbulent spirit. Editor: I keep coming back to the sheer density of it all, the layers of suffering. Thanks, now I'll be having nightmares tonight.