Paolo and Francesca da Rimini is a watercolor painting by British artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It was created in 1855 and is now displayed at Tate Britain. The painting is a triptych, meaning it has three parts. It is based on Canto V of Dante's Inferno, which tells the story of the forbidden love between Paolo Malatesta and his sister-in-law, Francesca da Rimini. The left and right panels show the two lovers together. The central panel shows Dante and the Roman poet Virgil, who leads Dante through hell in the poem.

History

Rossetti’s full name was Charles Gabriel Dante Rossetti, but he changed it to Dante Gabriel Rossetti to honor the famous Florentine poet. He signed all his works with this new name. The subject of this painting comes from Dante Aligheri’s Inferno, Canto V. It is a small watercolor triptych, created in an old-fashioned, medieval style typical of Rossetti’s work during this time. The painting was never made in oil. Although Rossetti had sketched the subject for many years, he completed the watercolor in just one week. The painting was purchased by the writer and critic John Ruskin. The drawing is simple, and the colors are mostly soft and muted. Only Francesca’s long golden hair hints at the more romantic figures in Rossetti’s later works. The painting was originally planned as an oil triptych with the same scenes, but the central image would have shown the lovers kissing.

Francesca was the sister-in-law of Paolo Malatesta. Both were married, but they fell in love. Their sad story of unfaithfulness was described by Dante in his Divine Comedy, Canto V of the Inferno. This story was a popular subject for Victorian artists, sculptors, and writers, especially those who followed the Pre-Raphaelite movement.

The triptych includes several lines from Canto V of Dante’s work. Rossetti added relevant quotes in Italian around the edges of the painting. The three panels are read from left to right. The left panel shows the lovers kissing, which led to their punishment. Rossetti followed Dante’s poem closely, depicting them reading about Sir Lancelot, a knight who also suffered for forbidden love. Sir Lancelot’s figure appears on an open book, dressed in red and blue, like Paolo. This scene matches the lines from Dante’s text:

— Divine Comedy, Canto V, verses 127–136 (free translation).

The central panel shows two of Rossetti’s admired literary figures, the Roman poet Virgil and the poet Dante himself, both crowned with laurel. They look worried at the two lovers on the right, who seem to float like ghosts in each other’s arms, surrounded by flames in hell. Their unfaithful relationship was discovered, and they were killed by Francesca’s husband and Paolo’s brother, Giovanni Malatesta. They were sent to the second circle of hell as punishment.

In the final panel, the lovers are shown being blown violently by the wind, as described in Dante’s lines:

— Divine Comedy, Canto V, verses 31–32.