Ugolino - Cesare Ferreri

A sombre engraving depicting Count Ugolino and his descendants in the Tower of Hunger, based on Dante's Divine Comedy.

This engraving depicts Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, a figure from Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, imprisoned with his children and grandchildren in the Tower of Hunger. The composition focuses on the psychological weight of their confinement. Ugolino sits centrally, his expression fixed and hollow, while his descendants are arranged around him in various states of exhaustion and despair. One child rests against his knee, another lies prone on the stone floor, and a third looks toward the patriarch with an expression of distress.

The artist employs a monochromatic palette to emphasise the stark, cold environment of the prison cell. The heavy stone masonry of the walls and the presence of iron chains serve to reinforce the theme of entrapment. The lighting is directional, casting deep shadows that define the figures and the texture of the stone, creating a sense of claustrophobia. The engraving technique allows for precise rendering of fabric folds and facial features, capturing the gravity of the scene without resorting to excessive ornamentation.

Cesare Ferreri interprets this literary subject through the lens of nineteenth-century Romanticism, which often favoured themes of suffering, historical tragedy, and human endurance. By stripping away colour, the work directs the viewer to the anatomical precision and the emotional states of the subjects. The composition is balanced, yet the emotional tension is palpable. This print provides a clear example of how classical literature influenced visual art during this period, offering a sombre reflection on the narrative of the Pisan count. The work remains a study in human tragedy, rendered with the technical discipline characteristic of period engraving.