1827
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Circle of the Falsifiers: Dante and Virgil Covering their Noses because of the st is a 1827 ink by William Blake, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows a dark, rocky landscape with two figures standing on a cliff, covering their noses. Below them, a group of people lie sprawled on the ground, some curled up in pain. The sky is stormy, and the scene looks chaotic and heavy. The two standing figures seem to be reacting to the stench of the people below—this is a scene from Dante’s *Inferno*, where the "falsifiers" suffer in a pit. The artist used sharp lines and shadows to make it feel dramatic. Next, look up engraving to see how artists like Blake carved these detailed scenes into metal plates.
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter and printmaker.
See the richer artist page
