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Artist or Maker: German, 1863-1928

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Medium: oil on canvas

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Dimensions: 50 1/2 by 82 1/4 in.

128.5 by 209 cm

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Provenance: Galerie Wimmer & Co., Munich, 1929

Sale, Christie's, London, October 9, 1997, lot 64

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Exhibited: Rome, International Kunstausstellung, 1911, no. 463

Munich, Secession, 1912, no. 190

Berlin, Königliche Akademie der Kunste, Ausstellung zur Feier des Regierungs Jubiläums Seiner Majestät des Kaisers und Konigs, 1913, no. 19

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Literature: F.von Ostini, Franz von Stuck. Das Gesamtwerk, Munich, 1909, (as In der Unterwelt), pp. X and 134, illustrated, p. 153, for photograph of Stuck's studio with the present work in view

H. E. von Berlepsch, Die Kunst unserer Zeit, Munich, 1910-11, vol. 21, illstrated prior to p. 205

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Notes: Seven studies are recorded for the individual figures in Inferno and three studies in tempera (see Voss, op. cit., pp. 293-4).

Inferno is an extraordinarily ambitious multi-figured composition that illustrates von Stuck's powerful, haunting and singular vision. Franz von Stuck championed the Symbolist aesthetic, interweaving themes of fear and sensual passion that culminated in expressive psychological compositions of pure color. Inspired by mythology, allegory, mysticism, religion and antiquity, von Stuck's dizzying oeuvre is both evocative and emotionally resonant.

In the 1890s von Stuck began to craft sculpture, inextricably drawn to the medium's three-dimensionality and monumentality. This interest clearly extends to Inferno where the bold treatment of the figures recalls the towering statuary of antiquity. The voluptuous woman at the far right grappling with the coiling snake especially recalls the fierce struggle of Lacoon and his Two Sons.

Von Stuck often crafted specially designed frames for his paintings. Inscribed with the title of each work, von Stuck seamlessly synthesized image and frame to create a unified whole.