Kazan to see Tribute to Dante by Italian sculptor Enzo Babini

An exhibition of Italian sculptor and ceramic artist Enzo Babini called Tribute to Dante will take place at Manege exhibition hall in Kazan on 31 July.

With all his love for Dante, Babini is aware of how complex he is and how many hidden layers his work contains. The one hundred terracotta pages are a visual prompt determining the path that for Kazan audiences begins at the Manege Exhibition Hall.

Each of the terracotta panels is based on Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. The contemporary Italian sculptor Enzo Babini worked on the collection for five years. He spent two years just trying to grasp the plot of the poem and decipher the allegoric images created by the great poet. Babini’s works can hardly be defined as illustrations to Divine Comedy’s canticas but rather as their comprehension and penetration into the philosophy of literature through the aestheticism of sculpture.

The works put on display at Manege Hall are bound to interest even people unacquainted with Dante’s work, each terracotta board being a piece of ceramic art in itself. Altogether, they recreate the Divine Comedy world that the spectator can see through the eyes of the sculptor.

The number of panels is not random but is equal to the number of comedy’s canticas, 3x33 plus one introductory illustration.

The exhibition has travelled to various parts of the world, including Australia and China.

Enzo Babini decided to give Russia his terracotta Tribute to Dante as a token of respect and appreciation of our country, Russian nation, great Russian culture, and to strengthen and promote friendly relations between Russia and Italy, reports the Kazan Kremlin’s press service.