Metafora pittorica e rappresentazione delle emozioni in Dante

The article aims to present and analyze a group of metaphors in Dante’s oeuvre that in volve the verb dipingere, and that have not yet been considered by scholars. These metaphors use the lexicon of paint to describe the expression of emotions on someone’s face. The study explores both the correlations and, more importantly, the differences be tween the traditional topos of the painted heart – widespread in the Sicilian lyric poetry and in the Stilnovo – and the new kind of metaphor created by Dante. Each metaphor is analyzed in relationship to its textual and thematic context, as well as in its similarities with other metaphors. Dante’s development of this new metaphor can be summarized in two phases. The first, found in Dante’s early Rime, carries a symbolic and emblematic meaning; the second, starting from the Convivio and continuing throughout the Commedia, focuses on the embodiment of emotions. The study ends with a linguistic hypothesis regarding the relationship between the textual construction of Dante’s new metaphors and his knowledge of a similar expression common in Tuscany in the 13th and 14th centuries.