Divine Comedy - L'Enfer - Chant 13 - The Forest Of Suicides - Woodcut - 118/4765 - "Collectors Set"

Art Historical Context

Salvador Dalí’s complete illustration of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy is regarded as one of the most ambitious graphic cycles of the twentieth century. The project comprises 100 images across Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, executed using various print techniques.

In L’Enfer, Chant XIII, Dante and Virgil enter the Second Ring of the Seventh Circle, where those violent against themselves are punished. The souls of suicides are transformed into trees and can speak only when their branches are broken. Dante converses with Pier della Vigna, whose story of disgrace and despair adds profound psychological depth to the canto.

The woodcut medium enhances the canto’s disturbing naturalism. Its carved lines and strong contrasts echo the twisted forms of the forest itself, reinforcing themes of fragmentation, silence, and irreversible transformation. Dalí’s visual language turns Dante’s allegory into a stark meditation on identity and loss.

Authentication & Documentation

This artwork is accompanied by a structured Authentication Report, providing transparency and research-based documentation specific to this individual woodcut.

• Edition and numbering verification
• Medium and technique confirmation
• Research references related to the Divine Comedy series
• High-resolution photographic documentation

This approach supports informed collecting and responsible evaluation of Dalí’s graphic works.

Collecting Significance

Chant XIII is one of the most visually distinctive and psychologically charged plates in the Inferno sequence. Collectors often regard this canto as among the most memorable due to its fusion of human tragedy and surreal transformation.

As a woodcut, the image gains additional force through its direct, carved aesthetic — a technique that mirrors the harshness of the subject matter and distinguishes it from etched interpretations.