Artwork

The Circle of the Traitors; Dante's Foot Striking Bocca degli Abbate

The Circle of the Traitors; Dante's Foot Striking Bocca degli Abbate is an ink print by the Romanticist artist William Blake. It dates from 1827 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

William Blake’s 1827 engraving, *The Circle of the Traitors; Dante’s Foot Striking Bocca degli Abbate*, presents a turbulent tableau drawn from Canto XXVIII of Dante’s *Inferno*. Executed in the last year of Blake’s life, the print captures the moment when the poet’s foot lands upon the treacherous Bocca degli Abbate, a scene that epitomizes the poet’s punitive journey through the circles of Hell.

Subject & Meaning

The composition visualizes Dante’s encounter with the traitor Bocca, whose punishment is rendered through the poet’s striking foot, symbolizing divine retribution. The chaotic arrangement of robed figures, contorted bodies in water, and a looming waterfall underscores the violence of betrayal and the moral order imposed by the afterlife, reflecting Blake’s interest in spiritual and ethical themes.

Technique & Style

Blake employed fine incised lines and deep cross‑hatching on a copper plate, producing stark contrasts of light and shadow that heighten the sense of movement. The blurred facial features and aggressive shading convey urgency, while the sharply delineated staff and pointing gesture draw the viewer’s eye through the composition, a hallmark of Blake’s dramatic printmaking.

History & Provenance

Created in 1827, the engraving belongs to the final series of works Blake produced before his death. Though largely unnoticed during his lifetime, the piece later entered collections of Romantic art scholars, illustrating Blake’s sustained engagement with Dante and his growing reputation as a pivotal figure in 19th‑century visual literature.

Context

Blake’s fascination with Dante aligns with the broader Romantic preoccupation with medieval sources and symbolic imagination. The print reflects contemporary interests in moral allegory and the exploration of inner visions, positioning Blake alongside other Romantic artists who sought to merge literary narrative with visual intensity.