My new panel, Canto 8, is FINISHED! I'm thrilled to unveil this painting exclusively to you, my Insider's List before it appears online. I was up until 2:30 AM last night finishing the painting and photography, so I hope you'll forgive me for the newsletter being an hour late this morning.
Originally started in 2023, I had to pause work due to my commission schedule and was only able to return to it late last year. Despite its complexity, I completed this composition in just six weeks. You may also notice it's slightly out of order, as I skipped it after completing Canto 7: The Wrathful on the Shores of the River Styx back in 2020. This is the 14th painting I've completed in this 40-piece series.
In Canto 8, Dante and Virgil cross the River Styx with the help of Phlegyas, the wrathful boatman who ferries souls through the murky waters. As they journey, the condemned Florentine nobleman Filippo Argenti rises from the filth, angrily confronting Dante, who scornfully rejects him while Virgil praises Dante's disdain. I wanted to emphasize Argenti's aggression in this depiction.
Dante despised Filippo Argenti because he was a violent and arrogant member of the Black Guelphs, Dante's political enemies, who may have played a role in seizing Dante's property after his exile. Argenti's notorious temper and cruelty made him a fitting symbol of wrath, and Dante takes satisfaction in seeing him tormented in the River Styx. As Argenti is torn apart by other damned souls, the poets approach the gates of Dis, where fallen angels refuse them entry-the subject of my next painting-setting the stage for divine intervention, as depicted in Canto 9: Celestial Messenger.
