The Dante and Beatrice convex mirrors are the result of taking well shaped but flimsy frames and making them solid and encrusted with miles of Venetian glass rods. The thickness of the glass gives each mirror a richness and depth that I love.
Dante has citrine spheres orbiting the center of the mirror. Each frame is around 10 inches in diameter.
Jewelry for walls!
These mirrors are dedicated to the great Italian poet, Dante Algheri( 1265-1321) and his true love, Beatrice Portinari( 1265-1290). Tho Dante only met Beatrice twice in his life, divided by nine years, she remained an inspiration to him.
An amusing anecdote is:Doré was 23 years old in 1855, when he first decided to create a series of engravings for a deluxe edition of Dante’s classic. He was already the highest-paid illustrator in France, with popular editions of Rabelais and Balzac under his belt, but Doré was unable to convince his publisher, Louis Hachette, to finance such an ambitious and expensive project. The young artist decided to pay the publishing costs for the first book himself. When the illustrated Inferno came out in 1861, it sold out fast. Hachette summoned Doré back to his office with a telegram: “Success! Come quickly! I am an ass!”
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