Francesca da Rimini
About this artwork
Dyce acknowledged this as one of the finest paintings he produced in Edinburgh. Its subject was inspired by the ill-fated lovers described by Dante in his epic poem The Inferno. Francesca, married to an elderly and deformed husband Gianciotto, read to his younger brother Paolo and they fell in love. Gianciotto surprised the lovers and murdered them. He was originally included in Dyce's composition. A hint of the tragic outcome is still suggested dramatically by the presence of Gianciotto's disembodied hand at the left, a fortuitous result of the canvas trimmed to remove damage in 1882.
Updated before 2020
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artist:William DyceScottish (1806 - 1864)
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title:Francesca da Rimini
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date created:1837
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:142.00 x 176.00 cm; Framed: 183.00 x 217.70 x 15.50 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased by the Royal Scottish Academy 1864; transferred to the National Gallery of Scotland and presented 1910
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accession number:NG 460
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
William Dyce
William Dyce
Dyce specialised chiefly in religious and medieval subjects. His many interests included medicine, geology and art education. Born in Aberdeen, he trained briefly in London before travelling to Italy. The Nazarenes, a group of German painters working in Rome who were inspired by the character of...
