Salvador Dalí – Divine Comedy (L’Enfer, Chant IX)
An original limited edition woodcut from Dalí’s Divine Comedy series, depicting the crisis at the gates of the City of Dis and the intervention that forces entry into the lower Inferno. Includes a detailed Authentication Report.
Chant IX is a dramatic threshold scene: the journey stalls at the sealed gates of Dis, threatened by the Furies and the petrifying terror of Medusa. Dalí’s woodcut interpretation heightens the canto’s monumental severity—walls, authority, and spiritual danger rendered with bold contrast and carved force.
Art Historical Context
Salvador Dalí’s complete illustration of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy is considered one of the most ambitious graphic undertakings of the twentieth century. The cycle comprises 100 images across Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso, executed using multiple print techniques.
In L’Enfer, Chant IX, Dante and Virgil confront the fortified City of Dis, whose gates are barred by hostile infernal forces. The Furies appear, calling for Medusa, whose gaze would turn Dante to stone. At the moment of highest danger, a heavenly messenger arrives, rebukes the resistance, and opens the gates, allowing passage into the deeper circles of Hell.
Dalí’s woodcut medium reinforces the canto’s architectural and spiritual weight. The medium’s directness and sharp tonal divisions emphasize obstruction, threat, and sudden authority, transforming the scene into a striking emblem of resistance broken by decisive intervention.
What You Receive
- Original Salvador Dalí woodcut
- Hand-numbered from the limited edition
- Printed using traditional woodcut technique
- Original accompanying booklet or documentation (where applicable)
- AuthenticDali Authentication Report
Technical Specifications
| Artist | Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) |
| Title | Divine Comedy – L’Enfer – Chant IX |
| Medium | Original Woodcut |
| Edition | Limited edition (hand-numbered) |
| Paper | Archival-quality paper (depending on edition) |
| Condition | Excellent vintage condition (see images for details) |
| Authentication | Includes detailed Authentication Report |
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 IX is prized for its narrative urgency and symbolic architecture. The canto’s confrontation with Medusa and the sudden intervention at Dis make it one of the Inferno’s most dramatic turning points.
As a woodcut, the scene gains additional impact through its sculptural directness and bold contrast, creating a powerful visual counterpart to the etched interpretations within the Divine Comedy cycle.
Learn more about the City of Dis, the Furies, Medusa, and Dalí’s woodcut interpretation in our in-depth reference page:
Salvador Dalí – Divine Comedy, Inferno – Chant IX
Availability is limited to remaining impressions from the edition.