The tragic tale of the lovers Paolo and Francesca, slain by his brother and her husband Giovanni, who surprised them together, is known to us thanks to Dante, who placed the story of real historical figures, Francesca da Rimini, Gianciotto and Paolo…
The tragic tale of the lovers Paolo and Francesca, slain by his brother and her husband Giovanni, who surprised them together, is known to us thanks to Dante, who placed the story of real historical figures, Francesca da Rimini, Gianciotto and Paolo Malatesta, in Canto V of the "Inferno". The subject appears in the work of many masters of different eras, from Ingres and Tchaikovsky to Rodin and Gabriele D'Annunzio.
Here are Paolo and Francesca, embraced by the sinister shadow of the deceived husband, in a version by Pierre Delorme from the 1820s.
