Literature · Art · Museums

Where words
become paintings
become journeys.

Discover how literary masterpieces inspired the world's great paintings — then plan your visit to the museums where they live.

Dante and Virgil in Hell — Bouguereau, 1850. Public domain.

How it works

Your discovery journey

📖
01
Literary Work
Start with an author or novel — from Dante to Shakespeare to Hugo.
✍️
02
Quote & Passage
Read the exact passage that moved painters to put brush to canvas.
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03
Inspired Artwork
See the painting, sculpture or drawing the text inspired, with curator notes.
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04
Visit the Museum
Find where it hangs today — hours, tickets, location and more.
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Authors
2
Artworks
3
Museums

Literary Authors

View all  →
V
Victor Hugo
French · 1802 – 1885
Poet, novelist, and dramatist — the greatest French Romantic writer. Author of Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris.
📚 1 work 🖼 1 artwork
D
Dante Alighieri
Italian · 1265 – 1321
Poet, writer, and philosopher. His Divine Comedy is the foremost work of Italian literature and a cornerstone of Western art.
📚 1 work 🖼 1 artwork
W
William Shakespeare
English · 1564 – 1616
The Bard of Avon — playwright, poet, and actor whose works remain the greatest in the English language.
📚 1 work 🖼 1 artwork

The Gallery

Full gallery  →
Dante and Virgil in Hell
Academic Realism
Dante and Virgil in Hell
William-Adolphe Bouguereau · 1850
Ophelia
Pre-Raphaelite
Ophelia
Sir John Everett Millais · 1852
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More artworks coming
Curated by our team
"
In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.
Dante Alighieri — Inferno, Canto I
Public Domain Source: Gutenberg.org

Dante's spiritual crisis at midlife becomes the universal human experience of losing one's moral direction — a passage that inspired generations of painters.

Dante and Virgil
Dante and Virgil in Hell
Bouguereau · Musée du Louvre, Paris

Visit the Museums

3 institutions holding artworks in our catalogue

Find near me  →
Musée du Louvre
📍 Paris, France  ·  🕐 Mon, Thu, Sat–Sun: 9am–6pm | Wed, Fri: 9am–9:45pm
1
artwork
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The National Gallery
📍 London, United Kingdom  ·  🕐 Daily: 10am–6pm | Fri: 10am–9pm
1
artwork
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Uffizi Gallery
📍 Florence, Italy  ·  🕐 Tue–Sun: 8:15am–6:50pm | Closed Mon
0
artworks
→

Plan your journey

See the paintings.
Feel the words.
Visit the museum.

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