about Dante Alghieri and Beatrice Portinari

The two figures depicted in these carvings are the famed poet Dante Alighieri and Beatrice Portinari.

Beatrice is known as Dante’s inspiration for “La Vita Nuova”, a text with verse and prose, about Dante’s’ love for Beatrice. Dante and Beatrice have been a great source of artistic inspiration for many artists including Henry Holiday and Dante Rossetti.