Images of Hell from Guiniforte Barzizza’s "Commento" (It. 2017, Bibliothèque nationale de France)

The manuscript of Dante’s Hell with a commentary wrote by the Pavian humanist Guiniforte Barzizza, created in the 40s of the 15th century for the Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, is decorated with miniatures attributed to the artist whom P. Toecsa names to as Maestro delle vitae imperatorum. Presumably, the manuscript initially contained about 115 miniatures, only 72 of which have been preserved till present days, but the codex, divided between two libraries (It. 2017, National Library of France, and MS 76, Communal Library of Imola) and several private collections, remains one of the most richly illustrated copies of The Divine Comedy of the late Middle Ages. Illustrations are characterized by archaism and oriented towards older models, such as miniatures of Strozziano 152 (Medici Laurenziana Library, Florence) or MS. Holkham misc. 48 (Bodleian Library, Oxford), while the tense realism of the miniature makes it an example of a new approach in the visual interpretation of The Divine Comedy.Maestro delle vitae imperatorum renders the details of narration accurately in terms of topography, anatomy and psychologism, intending to allow the reader become an accomplice of various emotions experienced by the protagonist of The Divine Comedy. Thus, the physical journey comes to the foreground, stretches in time and space, allowing readers to trace its course and the very topography of hell in the smallest detail. Researchers note that the incredible expressiveness of Dante's portraits on the pages of the Visconti manuscript - the poet's poses, gestures, facial expressions, as well as the "clinical" accuracy with which, for instance, the sufferings of sinners are transmitted, evoke terror rather than compassion.The article examines some miniatures of the Paris codex, analyzes the features of the image of hell as interpreted by Maestro delle vitae imperatorum and their connection with the tradition of illustrating the The Divine Comedy and with the visual culture of Visconti in general.