Salvador Dalí

The Sowers of Discord

Inferno: Canto XXVIII
From The Divine Comedy (1964)

In Inferno, Canto XXVIII, Dante enters the Ninth Bolgia of the Eighth Circle of Hell, where the Sowers of Discord endure an eternal punishment reflecting the divisions they created during their lives. Among them is Bertrand de Born, the medieval nobleman and troubadour whom Dante believed incited rebellion between King Henry II of England and his son. As a symbol of having divided a father from his child, Bertrand is condemned to carry his own severed head through eternity.

Rather than illustrating the scene with graphic realism, Salvador Dalí transforms Dante's vision into a haunting surreal composition. The elongated, fragmented figure appears suspended between presence and dissolution, while the detached skull becomes a powerful symbol of conscience, mortality, and the lasting consequences of human conflict. Dalí's dreamlike interpretation shifts the emphasis from physical suffering to the psychological and spiritual fragmentation caused by discord.

Created as part of Dalí's celebrated Divine Comedy series, this original color wood engraving demonstrates the artist's extraordinary ability to merge Renaissance literature with the visual language of Surrealism. Published by Les Heures Claires, Paris, the suite is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century's finest illustrated interpretations of Dante's immortal masterpiece.

Specifications

• Artist: Salvador Dalí (1904–1989)
• Title: The Sowers of Discord (Inferno: Canto XXVIII)
• Series: The Divine Comedy
• Date: 1964
• Medium: Original color wood engraving after Dalí's watercolor
• Publisher: Les Heures Claires, Paris
• Paper: BFK Rives
• Edition: European Artist's Proof (E.A.)
• Signature: yes, hand signed and annotated