Newly-discovered fresco depicts Dante without his famous hooked nose
For centuries now Florence’s most famous poet, Dante Alighieri, has been depicted with a most noticeable feature, an markedly hooked nose. However, a newly discovered fresco by an anonymous 13th century Florentine has depicted Dante with a much more classical, linear nose.
The fresco was discovered on the walls of the mediaeval headquarters of the Lawyer’s and Notary’s Guild, and it is now the oldest painting that documents the poet’s features. It was painted about 70 to 80 years after Dante’s death and is currently being studied to determine with certainty the identity of the painting’s subject.
Art historian Maria Monica Donato is certain that it is a portrait of Dante due to extensive documentation from the 1500’s.
