The influence of Dante on the concept of iconography of the Last Judgment

The article deals with the history of the appearance of purgatory in the iconographic concept of the Last Judgment and examines the influence of Dante’s “Divine Comedy” on the iconography of the aferlife. Before the XIIIth century in the images of the Last Judgment there were only hell and paradise, without purgatory. From the second half of the XIVth century, afer the appearance of Dante’s “Divine Comedy”, certain elements of purgatory appear, in particular, on the frescoes of Nardo di Chona in the Florentine church of Santa Maria Novella. In the middle of the XVth century, a number of images of the Last Judgment show the structural accent on purgatory. Te first such image was the “Coronation of Mary” by Engerrand Charonton, which dates back to 1453. Almost all outstanding artists of the XV - XVIth centuries who painted the “Last Judgment”: Fra Angelico, Signorelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, Vasari, largely followed the Dante conception of the aferlife and portrayed Dante himself among the righteous and teachers. From this we can draw a conclusion about the significant influence of the “Divine Comedy” on the formation of the iconographic concept of the Last Judgment