Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Paolo and Francesca da Rimini (1862)

Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was a medieval noblewoman of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the c ...

, who was murdered by her husband,

Giovanni Malatesta Giovanni Malatesta (died 1304), known, from his lameness, as Gianciotto, or Giovanni, lo Sciancato, was the eldest son of Malatesta da Verucchio of Rimini. From 1275 onwards he played an active part in the Romagnole Wars and factions. He is chie ...

, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother,

Paolo Malatesta Paolo Malatesta (; – 1285), also known as il Bello ('the Beautiful'), was the third son of Malatesta da Verucchio, lord of Rimini. He is best known for the story of his affair with Francesca da Polenta, portrayed by Dante in a famous episode ...

. She was a contemporary of

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His '' Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ...

, who portrayed her as a character in the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

''.

Life and death

Daughter of

Guido I da Polenta Guido I da Polenta (died 1310) was lord of Ravenna from 1275 until his abdication in 1297. The son of Lamberto da Polenta, he was ousted from Ravenna by the imperial troops in 1240. When the city was returned to the Papal States in 1248, Guido was ...

, Francesca was wedded in or around 1275 to the brave, yet crippled

(also called Gianciotto or "Giovanni the Lame"), son of Malatesta da Verucchio, lord of Rimini. The marriage was a political one; Guido had been at war with the Malatesta family, and the marriage of his daughter to Giovanni was a way to secure the peace that had been negotiated between the Malatesta and the Polenta families. While in Rimini, she fell in love with Giovanni's younger brother, Paolo. Though Paolo, too, was married, they managed to carry on an affair for some ten years, until Giovanni ultimately surprised them in Francesca's bedroom some time between 1283 and 1286, killing them both.

In Dante's ''Divine Comedy''

1835 Ary Scheffer - The Ghosts of Paolo and Francesca Appear to Dante and Virgil

Francesca appears as a character in Dante's '' Inferno'', the first part of the ''Divine Comedy'', where she is the first soul damned in Hell proper to be given a substantive speaking role. Francesca's testimony and condemnation is the first historical record of her, laying the foundation for her remembrance and legacy. Dante's knowledge of Francesca most likely stemmed from her nephew,

Guido Novello da Polenta Guido II da Polenta (died 1330), also known as Guido Novello, was an Italian who served as lord of Ravenna from 1316 until 1322. The nephew of Lamberto I da Polenta, he acquired the lordship of the city after the latter's death. In 1316–1321 h ...

, who served as Dante's host in Ravenna at the end of his life. In ''Inferno'' 5, Dante and

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

meet Francesca and her lover Paolo in the second circle of hell, reserved for the lustful. The couple are buffeted by violent winds in a similar manner that they allowed themselves to be swept away by their passions. Dante approaches Francesca and Paolo. Francesca takes ownership of telling their story while Paolo weeps in the background. She first introduces herself not by name, but by the city in which she was born; Francesca's self-association with the land implies a voluntary detachment from her personhood and a self-objectification. Dante's condemnation of Francesca stems from her complete refusal of agency. In her compelling speech to Dante, Francesca blames love as the agent of her sin. Francesca explaining that Paolo loved her first and describes how "Love, which is swiftly kindled in the noble heart, seized this one for the lovely person that was taken from me; and the manner still injures me." She depicts herself as a passive agent who succumbed to Paolo's love for her. Francesca's description of love "seizing" her implies that she views herself as a helpless victim of her circumstance. She continues that, "Love, which pardons no one loved from loving in return, seized me for his beauty so strongly that, as you see, it still does not abandon me." Here, she affirms that her reciprocation of Paolo's affection was dictated by "Love" itself, rather than a genuine love that came from within. Again, she portrays herself as a passive victim, refusing to recognize her own agency. Finally, Francesca explains that "Love led us on to one death." Francesca does not accept responsibility for the origins nor the consequences of her affair. It is also important to underscore that Francesca and Paolo's adultery was enabled by literature. Francesca and Paolo's relationship began innocently while reading a tale about

Lancelot du Lac Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

. Francesca tells Dante that she "was kissed by so great a lover, he, who will never be separated from me, kissed my mouth, all trembling. Galeotto was the book and he who wrote it: that day we read there no further." Again, Francesca refers to herself as a passive object and assigns agency to literature that ''she'' reads. Ironically, if Paolo and Francesca would have finished reading, they would have learned that Guinivere and Lancelot's adultery eventually destroys

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as ...

's kingdom. Dante's literary portrayal of Francesca allows her to become a relevant example for moral agency. Dante portrays Francesca compassionately and assigns her a commanding and persuasive voice. Francesca is "never actively interrupted by any authoritative male voice, be it the pilgrim's, the narrator's or, importantly, her lover's, who is silently present at the scene of the testimony." Additionally, Francesca's persuasive power derives from her language, which echoes that of love poetry, especially from Dante's early poems. In this way, Francesca becomes a reflection of Dante himself. At the end of Francesca's testimony, Dante faints and "fell as a dead body falls." The pilgrim's symbolic death parallels Francesca's submission to her desires. Francesca becomes an "avatar of a persona that had been Dante's own." Learning from Francesca's faults allows the pilgrim to rectify his own relationship with literature. Though Dante condemns Francesca, his compassionate literary portrayal gives her a dignity and a historical significance that she was deprived of in real life. In other words, her historical legacy transcends her literary condemnation. File:Johann Heinrich Füssli - Dante Observing the Soaring Souls of Paolo and Francesca.jpg,

Henry Fuseli Henry Fuseli ( ; German: Johann Heinrich Füssli ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as ''The Nightmare'', deal with supernatur ...

: ''Dante Observing the Soaring Souls of Paolo and Francesca'', pen and ink, c. 1800 File:Joseph Anton Koch - Dante and Virgil in the Second Circle in Hell.tif, Joseph Anton Koch: ''Dante and Virgil in the Second Circle in Hell'', pen, ink and watercolor on paper, 1823 File:Inf. 06 Giuseppe Frascheri, Dante e Virgilio incontrano Paolo e Francesca, 1846.jpg,

Giuseppe Fraschieri Giuseppe Fraschieri (1808–1886) was an Italian painter. He was born in Savona. He initially trained at the Accademia Ligustica of Genoa, but then, under a stipend of the city of Savona, he went to study in the studio of Giuseppe Bezzuoli in Flor ...

: ''Dante e Virgilio incontrano Paolo e Francesca'', oil on canvas, 1846 (Civica Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Savona) File:Joseph Noel Paton - Dante Meditating.jpg, Joseph Noel Paton: ''Dante Meditating the Episode of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta'', oil on canvas, 1852 (

Bury Art Museum Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre, formerly known as Bury Museum and Art Gallery, is a public museum, archives, and art gallery in the town of Bury, Greater Manchester, northern England, owned by Bury Council. Built in 1901, the Museum's bui ...

) File:Dore Gustave Francesca and Paolo da Rimini Canto 5 73-75.jpg, Gustave Doré: ''The Souls of Paolo and Francesca'', etching, 1857 File:Gustave Doré - Paolo and Francesca da Rimini.jpg, Gustave Doré: ''The Souls of Paolo and Francesca'', oil on canvas, 1863 File:Watts-Paolo and Francesca.jpg, George Frederic Watts: ''Paolo and Francesca'', oil on canvas, 1875 (

Watts Gallery Watts Gallery – Artists' Village is an art gallery in the village of Compton, near Guildford in Surrey. It is dedicated to the work of the Victorian-era painter and sculptor George Frederic Watts. The gallery has been Grade II* listed on th ...

, Surrey) File:Inf. 06 Mosè Bianchi, Paolo e Francesca, 1877c.jpg,

Mosè Bianchi Mosè Bianchi (1840–1904) was an Italian painter and printmaker. Biography Bianchi was born in Monza. His family moved to Milan and he enrolled at the Brera Academy. Having interrupted his studies to serve in the second war of independence, he ...

: ''Paolo and Francesca'', watercolor and gold on paper, c. 1877 ( Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan) File:Henri Martin-Paolo Malatesta.jpg, Henri-Jean Guillaume Martin: ''Paolo Malatesta et Francesca da Rimini aux enfers'', oil on canvas, 1883 (Musée des beaux-arts,

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aud ...

) File:Paolo et Francesca ou couple damné - Auguste Rodin (B 1153-bis-n).jpg,

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

: ''Paolo et Francesca'', or ''Couple damné'' ( Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon) File:Eugène Deully - Dante et Virgile aux Enfers.jpg, Eugène Deully: ''Dante et Virgile aux Enfers'', 1897 File:Amelia Bauerle - Paolo and Francesca.jpg,

Amelia Bauerle Amalie Mathilde Bauerle (12 November 1873 – 4 March 1916), known as Amelia Bauerle, was a British painter, illustrator and etcher. She also used the name Amelia Matilda Bowerley. Life Bauerle was born in the Bayswater area of London, the ...

: ''Paolo and Francesca'', 1902 File:Umberto Boccioni - Il sogno (Paolo e Francesca).jpg, Umberto Boccioni: ''Il sogno'', or ''Paolo e Francesca'', oil on canvas, 1909 (Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna,

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

) File:Gaetano Previati - Paolo e Francesca (1909).jpg, Gaetano Previati: ''Paolo e Francesca'', oil on canvas, 1909 File:John Riley Wilmer - Paolo and Francesca.jpg, John Riley Wilmer: ''Paolo and Francesca'', watercolor, gouache and ink, 1930

Reception and legacy

Giovanni Boccaccio

In the years following Dante's portrayal of Francesca, legends about Francesca began to appear. Chief among them was one put forth by poet

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was som ...

in his commentary on the ''Divine Comedy'', '' Esposizioni sopra la Comedia di Dante.'' Boccaccio stated that Francesca had been tricked into marrying Giovanni through the use of Paolo as a proxy. Guido, fearing that Francesca would never agree to marry the crippled Giovanni, had supposedly sent for the much more handsome Paolo in Giovanni's stead. It wasn't until the morning after the wedding that Francesca discovered the deception. This version of events, however, is very likely a fabrication. It would have been nearly impossible for Francesca not to know who both Giovanni and Paolo were, and that Paolo was already married, given the dealings the brothers had had with Ravenna and Francesca's family. Also, Boccaccio was born in 1313, some 27 years after Francesca's death, and while many Dante commentators after Boccaccio echoed his version of events, none before him had mentioned anything similar.

Modern reception

In the 19th century, the story of Paolo and Francesca inspired numerous theatrical, operatic, and symphonic adaptations.

Related works

Poetry

* Leigh Hunt, ''The Story of Rimini'' (1816)

Theatre and opera

* Silvio Pellico, ''Francesca da Rimini'', tragedy (1818) * Feliciano Strepponi, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in two acts, libretto by Felice Romani (Padua 1823) * Luigi Carlini, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in two acts, libretto by Felice Romani (Naples 1825) * Saverio Mercadante, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera (Madrid 1831) * Pietro Generali, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera, libretto by Paolo Pola (Venice 1828) * Gaetano Quilici, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in two acts, libretto by Felice Romani (Lucca 1829) *

Giuseppe Staffa Giuseppe Staffa (1807–1877) was an Italian composer and conductor. He is best remembered for his seven operas which he composed between 1827 and 1852. He was active as a conductor in Naples at the Teatro del Fondo and Teatro Nuovo. One of hi ...

, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in two acts, libretto by Felice Romani (Naples 1831) * Giuseppe Fournier-Gorre, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in two acts, libretto by Felice Romani (Livorno 1832) * Giuseppe Tamburini, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in three acts, libretto by Felice Romani (Rimini 1835) *

Francesco Morlacchi Francesco Giuseppe Baldassare Morlacchi (14 June 1784 – 28 October 1841) was an Italian composer of more than twenty operas. During the many years he spent as the royal Royal Kapellmeister in Dresden, he was instrumental in popularizing the It ...

, '' Francesca da Rimini'', opera (composed for Venice 1836, but unperformed) * Emanuele Borgatta, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in three acts, libretto by Felice Romani (Genoa 1837) * Gioacchino Maglioni, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera (Genoa 1840) * Eugen Nordal (pseudonym of Johann Arnold-Gruber), ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera after Paolo Pola (Linz 1840; performed

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication Posthumous publication refers to material that is published after the author's death. This can be because the auth ...

) * Salvatore Papparlado, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in four acts (Genoa 1840; unperformed) * Francesco Cannetti, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera, libretto by Felice Romani (Vicenza 1843) * Vincenzo Sassaroli, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera, libretto by Felice Romani (Catania 1846) *

George Henry Boker George Henry Boker (October 6, 1823 – January 2, 1890) was an American poet, playwright, and diplomat. Early years and education Boker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His father was Charles S. Boker, a wealthy banker, whose financi ...

, ''Francesca da Rimini'', play (1853) * Giovanni Franchini, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in three acts, libretto by Felice Romani (Lisbon 1857) * Jan Neruda, ''Francesca di Rimini'', play (1860) * Giuseppe Marcarini, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera, libretto by Benvenuti (Piacenza 1870) *

Hermann Goetz Hermann Gustav Goetz (7 December 1840 – 3 December 1876) was a German composer who spent much of his career in Switzerland. He is best known for his 1872 opera '' Der Widerspänstigen Zähmung'', based on Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew ...

, ''Francesca von Rimini'', opera in three acts, libretto by the composer (Mannheim 1877; overture and act III completed by Ernst Frank) *

Antonio Cagnoni Antonio Cagnoni (8 February 1828 – 30 April 1896) was an Italian composer. Primarily known for his twenty operas, his work is characterized by his use of leitmotifs and moderately dissonant harmonies. In addition to writing music for the sta ...

, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in four acts, libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni (Turin 1878) * Gabriele D'Annunzio, '' Francesca da Rimini'', tragedy (1901; written for D'Annunzio's

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

Eleonora Duse Eleonora Giulia Amalia Duse ( , ; 3 October 185821 April 1924), often known simply as Duse, was an Italian actress, rated by many as the greatest of her time. She performed in many countries, notably in the plays of Gabriele d'Annunzio and He ...

) * Ambroise Thomas, '' Françoise de Rimini'', opera (Paris 1882) * Antonio Scontrino, ''Francesca da Rimini'', "tragedia" (in fact an opera) in five acts, libretto after D'Annunzio (Rome 1901) *

Stephen Phillips Stephen Phillips (28 July 1864 – 9 December 1915) was an English poet and dramatist, who enjoyed considerable popularity early in his career. Biography He was born at Somertown near Oxford, the son of the Rev. Stephen Phillips, precentor o ...

, ''

Paolo and Francesca Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta (died between 1283 and 1286) was a medieval noblewoman of Ravenna, who was murdered by her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, upon his discovery of her affair with his brother, Paolo Malatesta. She was a c ...

'', play (1902) * Francis Marion Crawford, ''Francesca da Rimini'', play in five acts (1902) *

Marcel Schwob Mayer André Marcel Schwob, known as Marcel Schwob (23 August 1867 – 26 February 1905), was a French symbolist writer best known for his short stories and his literary influence on authors such as Jorge Luis Borges, Alfonso Reyes, Roberto Bo ...

, '' Francesca da Rimini'', play, translation of Crawford (given with music by Gabriel Pierné Paris 1902, Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt) * Eduard Nápravník, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in four acts (St. Petersburg 1902) *

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

, '' Francesca da Rimini'', opera in one act (two tableaux) with a prologue and an epilogue, libretto by

Modest Tchaikovsky Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (russian: Моде́ст Ильи́ч Чайко́вский; –) was a Russian dramatist, opera librettist and translator. Early life Modest Ilyich was born in Alapayevsk, Verkhotursky Uyezd, Perm Governorate, the ...

(Moscow 1906) *

Luigi Mancinelli Luigi Mancinelli (; 5 February 1848 – 2 February 1921) was an Italian conductor, cellist and composer. His early career was in Italy, where he established a reputation in Perugia and then Bologna. After 1886 he worked mostly in other count ...

, ''Paolo e Francesca'', opera in one act (1907)''Paolo e Francesca''
opera by

, booklet (synopsis, libretto), 2004 recording Naxos Records * Emil Ábrányi, ''Paolo és Francesca'', opera in three acts, libretto after Dante by Emil Ábrányi, Sr. (Budapest 1912) * Franco Leoni, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera in three tableaux, based on Crawford's play (Paris 1914,

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

) *

Primo Riccitelli Primo Riccitelli (9 August 1875 – 27 March 1941), was an Italian composer. One of six children, he was born in the village of Cognoli, Campli in the Abruzzo region of Italy. His father, Giuseppe, was a small landowner and his mother, Maria Ma ...

, ''Francesca da Rimini'', opera * Riccardo Zandonai, '' Francesca da Rimini'', opera in four acts, libretto by Tito Ricordi, based on D'Annunzio (Turin 1914) * Nino Berrini, ''Francesca da Rimini'', play (1924) Rachmaninov Francesca da Rimini

Music

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

, "Farò come colui che piange e dice", aria (musical setting of ''Inferno'', Canto 5, lines 126ff., 1848) *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

, ''Francesca da Rimini'', symphonic poem (1876) * Arthur Foote, Symphonic Prologue ''Francesca da Rimini'', Op. 24 (1890) *

Antonio Bazzini Antonio Bazzini (11 March 181810 February 1897) was an Italian violinist, composer and teacher. As a composer, his most enduring work is his chamber music, which earned him a central place in the Italian instrumental renaissance of the 19th centu ...

, ''Francesca da Rimini'', Symphonic Poem, Op. 77 (Berlin 1890) * Pierre Maurice, ''Francesca da Rimini'', Symphonic Poem, Op. 6 (1899) *

Paul von Klenau Paul August von Klenau (11 February 1883 in Copenhagen – 31 August 1946 in Copenhagen) was a Danish-born composer who worked primarily in Germany and Austria. Biography Klenau was born in Copenhagen, where he studied under Otto Malling. Alread ...

, ''Francesca da Rimini'', Symphonic Poem (1913, revised 1919) * Olga Gorelli, ''Paolo e Francesca'', guitar duo from the album ''Hausmusik. 20th Century Chamber Music for the Home'' (2000) *

Mediæval Bæbes The Mediæval Bæbes are a British musical ensemble founded in 1996 by Dorothy Carter and Katharine Blake. It included some of Blake's colleagues from the band Miranda Sex Garden, as well as other friends who shared her love of medieval music. ...

, "The Circle of the Lustful" from '' The Rose'' album (2002)

Film

* '' Paolo e Francesca'', 1950 film by Raffaello Matarazzo

Art

* Joseph Anton Koch, ''Paolo and Francesca Surprised by Gianciotto'',

watercolor Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

(1805; Thorvaldsen Museum,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

) * Marie-Philippe Coupin de la Couperie, ''The Tragic Love of Francesca da Rimini'', oil on canvas (1812; Napoleonmuseum, Arenberg) * Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, ''

'', oil on canvas (1819;Musée des Beaux-Arts, Angers, France) * Ary Scheffer, '' Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta Appraised by Dante and Virgil'', oil on canvas (1835; Wallace Collection, London; an 1855 version is in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

, Paris), and there are other versions * Gustave Doré, ''Francesca da Rimini'', several illustrations to

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...

's ''Inferno'' (1857) * Dante Gabriel Rossetti, '' Paolo and Francesca da Rimini'' (1862) * Alexandre Cabanel, ''The Death of Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta'', oil on canvas (1870; Musée d'Orsay, Paris) * George Frederic Watts, ''Paolo and Francesca'', oil on canvas (between 1872 and 1884; private collection) *

, '' The Kiss'', marble sculpture (1888; Musée Rodin, Paris) File:Lux Musée national antonio canova paolo et francesca de rimini.JPG,

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cla ...

: ''Paolo et Francesca da Rimini'' (

National Museum of History and Art The National Museum of History and Art ( lb, Nationalmusée fir Geschicht a Konscht, french: Musée national d'histoire et d'art, german: Nationalmuseum für Geschichte und Kunst), abbreviated to MNHA, is a museum located in Luxembourg City, in ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

) File:William Dyce - Francesca da Rimini - Google Art Project.jpg, William Dyce: ''Francesca da Rimini'', oil on canvas, 1837 ( Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh) File:Anselm Feuerbach - Paolo und Francesca - Kunsthalle Mannheim.jpg, Anselm Feuerbach: ''Paolo und Francesca'', study, 1864 (

Kunsthalle Mannheim The Kunsthalle Mannheim is a museum of modern and contemporary art, built in 1907, established in 1909 and located in Mannheim, Germany. Since then it has housed the city's art collections as well as temporary exhibitions – and up to 1927 thos ...

) File:Anselm Feuerbach - Paolo und Francesca (drawing).jpg, Anselm Feuerbach: ''Paolo und Francesca'', sketch, 1864 File:Feuerbach Paolo und Francesca.jpg, Anselm Feuerbach: ''Paolo und Francesca'', oil on canvas, 1864 ( Schackgalerie, Munich) File:Amos Cassioli - Paolo e Francesca.jpg, Amos Cassioli: ''Paolo e Francesca'' or ''Il Bacio'', 1870 File:Charles Edward Hallé - Paolo and Francesca 01.jpg, Charles Edward Hallé: ''Paolo and Francesca'', oil on canvas File:Wiesiołowski - Francesca i Paolo 1885.jpg, Ludwik Wiesiołowski: ''Francesca i Paolo'', oil on canvas, 1885 File:Rodin TheKiss 20050609.JPG,

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

's '' The Kiss'' (1888; Musée Rodin, Paris) was originally titled ''Francesca da Rimini'' File:Arnold Böcklin - Paolo und Francesca.jpg,

Arnold Böcklin Arnold Böcklin (16 October 182716 January 1901) was a Swiss symbolist painter. Biography He was born in Basel. His father, Christian Frederick Böcklin (b. 1802), was descended from an old family of Schaffhausen, and engaged in the silk trade ...

: ''Paolo and Francesca'', oil on canvas, 1893 (Museum Oskar Reinhart,

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria ...

) File:Frank Dicksee - Paolo and Francesca.jpg,

Frank Dicksee Sir Francis Bernard Dicksee (27 November 1853 – 17 October 1928) was an English Victorian painter and illustrator, best known for his pictures of dramatic literary, historical, and legendary scenes. He also was a noted painter of portra ...

: ''Paolo and Francesca'', oil on canvas, 1894 File:Joseph Anton Koch - Paolo da Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini surprised by Gianciotto Malatesta.tif, Joseph Anton Koch: ''Paolo da Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini surprised by Gianciotto Malatesta'', pen, ink and watercolor on paper, 1805 ( Thorvaldsen Museum) File:Bartolomeo Pinelli - La Franceschina di Rimini.jpg,

Bartolomeo Pinelli Bartolomeo Pinelli (November 20, 1781 – April 1, 1835) was an Italian illustrator and engraver. Life Pinelli was born and died in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, the son of an artisan who modeled religious statues. Pinelli was ed ...

: ''La Franceschina di Rimini'', c. 1809 ( Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen) File:FrancescaCoupin.jpg, Marie-Philippe Coupin de la Couperie: ''The Tragic Love of Francesca da Rimini'', 1812 (Napoleonmuseum, Arenenberg, Constance) File:Gianciotto Discovers Paolo and Francesca Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.jpg, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres: ''Gianciotto Discovers Paolo and Francesca'', oil on canvas, 1819 ( Musée Bonnat,

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine r ...

) File:Eugène Delacroix - Paolo et Francesca.jpg,

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

: ''Paolo et Francesca'', watercolor, 1825 File:Alfred Elmore - Paolo and Francisca.jpg, Alfred Elmore: ''Paolo and Francisca'', brush drawing
(

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

) File:Gustave Doré - The Inferno, Canto 5-2.jpg, Gustave Doré: Illustration of ''Inferno'', Canto 5 (lines 134–135), 1857 File:Francisca de Rímini (Museo del Prado).jpg, Francisco Díaz Carreño: ''Francisca de Rímini'', oil on canvas, 1866 ( Prado, Madrid) File:Alexandre cabanel, morte di francesca da rimini e paolo malatesta, 1870.JPG, Alexandre Cabanel: ''Mort de Francesca de Rimini et de Paolo Malatesta'', c. 1870
( Musée d'Orsay, Paris) File:Gaetano Previati - Paolo e Francesca (1887 ca.).jpg, Gaetano Previati: ''Paolo e Francesca'', or ''Morte di Paolo e Francesca'', oil on canvas, c. 1887 (

Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo The Accademia Carrara, (), officially Accademia Carrara di Belle Arti di Bergamo, is an art gallery and an academy of fine arts in Bergamo, in Lombardy in northern Italy. The art gallery was established in about 1780 by , a Bergamasco collect ...

)

Notes

References

General references

* Mason, A. E. W. (1935). ''Sir George Alexander & The St. James' Theatre''. Reissued 1969, New York: Benjamin Blom. *

External links

''World of Dante''
multimedia website that includes gallery of images of the Paolo and Francesca episode

includes images of related artworks
''The Story of Rimini''
Google Books edition of Leigh Hunt's poem * Website of th

at the Centro Internazionale di Studi Francesca da Rimini, Los Angeles (includin

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rimini, Francesca da 1255 births 1285 deaths 13th-century Italian nobility 13th-century Italian women Assassinated Italian people Assassinated nobility Da Polenta family Characters in the Divine Comedy