Application of illustration and visual imagery of a classic literary work in art education

Abstract

Illustrations of classic literary works can be considered an artistic subgenre with great influence in popular culture throughout history. Their use in art education allows for the exploration of new methods of education through art. This article deals with the application of artistic representations of Dante's work in art education implemented in graduate and undergraduate studies. It first presents a historical overview in illustration of the most significant artistic contributions of authors who interpret the songs of the Divine Comedy and then describes a practical activity with project-based learning methodology designed for graduate and undergraduate students that takes the Divine Comedy as a basis. In the activity, the work of classic illustrators who have represented it is reviewed and then the students create their drawings inspired by their imagination with excerpts from the text of the work. In this process, a natural approach to a classic work is achieved, working on specific parts of it.

The results of the experience confirm that with these projects students become familiar with the multiple cultural values of a work of universal classical literature. The approach is applicable to other literary classics, both culturally close (Blood Wedding, Don Quixote) and distant (The Odyssey, Nordic mythologies).