Dante Historiato da Federigo Zuccaro

This incredible work of the Spanish Renaissance presents 88 of the finest depictions of the famous Divina Commedia by Dante Alighieri (ca. 1265–1321). The detailed drawings were created by Federico Zuccari (1540–1609) between 1586 and 1588, when he was summoned to the Royal Monastery of El Escorial by King Philip II of Spain (1527–98). Zuccari ran in the circles of the leading artists of his time and had a deep, personal understanding of the magnum opus that has done more to establish the fundamental text of the modern Italian language than any other. His 88 drawings in red and black pencil cover the entirety of Dante’s work, with 28 depictions of Hell, 49 of Purgatory, and 11 of Paradise. This coveted collection passed through the hands of some of the greatest art patrons in history, including Paolo Giordano Orsini (1541–1585) and his wife Isabella Romola de' Medici (1542–1576), through whom it came into the possession of the Medici family and eventually came to the world-famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence.