Dante’s CourtyardYou are invited to take your ease amongst the sandstone and plaster walls of an ancient time. But you are not alone. The curtains move. The tables are disturbed. The shop owner has heard the clinking goblet. Hurried footfalls climb a stair behind you and you begin to realize you have stepped into a dream. A dream centuries old of lovers, scoundrels and hopeless souls. The dream of Dante Alighieri. His vision of hell transformed from its spiraling circles downward to bistros where unfaithful lovers meet, to restaurants whose guest list you do not have the privilege of being on, to stairways of paradise and dull doorways of purgatory. Gazing skyward you begin to see that you are not without all hope. The blue skies are filled with clouds — spirits whose ascent is illuminated even as the light fades. The story of The Divine Comedy encompassed within the walls of Dante’s Courtyard. Commissioned by a Louisville businesswoman for her basement party room, this trompe l’oeil work covers every surface of the small space, including the floor and ceiling. Existing stairs, drains, and exposed plumbing and conduit are integrated into the painting. The figures in the clouds have luminescent highlights, making the room continue to seem larger than it is even in the dark. View details of Dante’s Courtyard. |
|