Canto XXI/3: Laurel and Hardy

Silkscreen page proof approved by the artist and signed / initialled by him, taken from the original Talford Press edition of 185, printed on 100% rag, acid-free Inveresk (Somerset) paper

page size 39.5 x 31 cm

1979 – 1983

Dante's direction here of diabolical buffoonery is as cinematic as ever, reminding the artist of a two-reeler farce. At the top of a singed filmstrip Dante and Virgil occupy the first frame in debased guise; Dante as he appears on the label of a bottle of olive oil and Virgil as he appears on the wrapper of a pack of butter. The lower two frames show Laurel and Hardy in the same relationship as the poets, making a Stan of Dante and an Ollie of Virgil.