La Bufera Infernal, (Francesca and Paolo), oil on canvas, 170 x 180cm, 2014
La Bufera Infernal (The Infernal Whirlwind), from Between Three Worlds, is inspired by Dante's famous characters Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini. Caught in the second circle of Hell for the sin of lust (Inferno, Canto V), Paolo and Francesca's awful fate is to be buffeted by torturous winds for all eternity. In this work, a coarse impasto flays the bodies of the two lovers, dissolving and thrashing at their physicality until only the heads - the intellects - of the two remain.
The title is taken from Line 31 of Dante's Canto V: "La bufera infernal, che mai non resta..." [The infernal whirlwind, which never rests...]. Soft greys and muted umbers fight across an intense black ground, "...l'aura nera si gastiga..." [...the black wind which chastises...] (Inferno V, 51). The painting simultaneously relates the sadness of Paolo and Francesca's predicament and the horror of their reality, caught forever in Hell, eternally torn by winds, for a 'sin' that seemingly was simply to desire.
The title is taken from Line 31 of Dante's Canto V: "La bufera infernal, che mai non resta..." [The infernal whirlwind, which never rests...]. Soft greys and muted umbers fight across an intense black ground, "...l'aura nera si gastiga..." [...the black wind which chastises...] (Inferno V, 51). The painting simultaneously relates the sadness of Paolo and Francesca's predicament and the horror of their reality, caught forever in Hell, eternally torn by winds, for a 'sin' that seemingly was simply to desire.