Library Guides: Dante at Notre Dame: Art, Film and Music

Finding Images

Many artists have used Dante's texts as inspiration for visual art. While many manuscript images can be found online, ARTstor provides access to millions of images from a variety of media:

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Searchable database of digital images and associated catalog data, with new image collections added several times a year. ARTstor covers many time periods and cultures, and documents the fields of architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, design, anthropology, ethnographic and women studies, as well as many other forms of visual culture. Users can search, view, download and organize images.

Film and Television Adaptations

Scores of films include references to Dante's works, especially Inferno, but here are few notable visual adaptations of the text:

L'Inferno
Publication Date: 1911
L'Inferno was the first silent full-length Italian feature film ever made. Hesburgh Libraries' copy includes a soundtrack recorded by Tangerine Dream in 2004.
Dante's Inferno
Publication Date: 1935
Directed by Harry Lachman and starring Spencer Tracy, this film is notable for its 10 minute depiction of Dante's hell within a carnival setting.
Dante's Inferno
Call Number: D 04983 Video
Publication Date: 2007
This puppet-based film is based on modern adaptation of Inferno by Sandow Birk and Marcus Sanders.
A TV Dante: The Inferno Cantos I-VIII
Call Number: D 03433 Video
Publication Date: 1989
This adaptation of the first eight cantos of Inferno, directed by Peter Greenaway, was originally broadcast on Britain's Channel 4 in 1990.

Streaming video services provide access to these films and more:

Kanopy
On-demand, revolving streaming video for selected documentaries and theatrical releases.
Silent Film Online
Silent features, serials, and shorts from the 1890s to the 1930s.

Musical Scores and Recordings

Hesburgh Libraries also own many examples of musical adaptations of Dante's works. To find musical scores, search the Libraries' main catalog for 'Dante Alighieri musical settings.'

Many of these these compositions and additional music devoted to Dante can be streamed through the Naxos Music Library:

Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window
Streaming access to thousands of classical music CDs, with access to the catalogs of various music labels. Includes jazz, film music, and opera libretti and synopses. Search by composer, work, label, and keywords.