London-based artist and violinist, Leonardo Frigo has been painting string instruments for nearly a decade. He creates this unique art form with the premise that his instruments can not only be listened to while played or merely visually appreciated in their original form, but read like storybooks. Through striking symbols, vivid patterns, and strategically placed embedded text, his work welcomes his audience to engage with instruments in a new, one-of-kind way, instilling a newfound perspective.

In December 2020, after nearly five years of meticulous research and planning, Leonard completed a seminal project: "Dante Alighieri - Inferno" a series conceived and developed to bring together his love of music, poetry, design and craftsmanship in a single piece of art.

“Dante's Inferno has always inspired me since I was a child, I can probably say that it taught me to imagine and dream.”

On 33 violins and 1 cello, Leonardo made the emblematic illustrations inspired by the first cantica of Dante’s Divine Comedy: Inferno (Hell). Each musical instrument is dedicated to a specific canto. After taking careful notes and annotations about each canto, he searched for symbols, names and illustrations that when combined, could tell the story written by Dante. When the final design became clear in his mind, he painted it by hand on the entire surface of the violin. The instrument was then varnished, installed on its base, and accompanied by an accurate descriptive text, both in Italian and in English, which highlights and analyzes all its details.

The project was carried out to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the life and death of Dante (his death falling in September 1321). The entire collection is not a simple result of a creative work, but comes from Leonardo's desire to share, promote and spread Italian culture all over the world and in a different way. The beauty, the harmony and the passion that transpires from the mix of art, music and literature that takes shape through Leonardo's musical instruments allows the viewer to study and read the cantos of the Divine Comedy in a uniquely alternative way.

To learn more about Leonard Frigo, visit his website: http://www.leonardofrigo.com/. All photos: Leonardo Frigo; video: Daniele Andronico

— Christina Spearman

Amplified: Stringed Allegories