Ugolino and His Sons
by CARPEAUX, Jean-Baptiste, Bronze cast by Victor Thiébaut, 194 x 148 x 119 cm
Carpeaux found inspiration in Canto XXXIII of Dante’s Divine Comedy which describes the encounter in Hell between the writer, led by Virgil, and Ugolino della Gherardesca. The count recounts the punishment he has suffered. Ugolino was imprisoned in a tower, condemned to starve to death in gaol. According to legend, Ugolino died after eating his own sons and grandsons who shared his cell.