Conversations on Dante is a new set of podcast episodes from the Leeds Centre for Dante Studies at the University of Leeds. In each episode, we sit down with researchers from a range of disciplines to discuss some of the work which is helping to shape our understanding of Dante, his context and works, and his place in the cultures of the world.

In this episode, Dr Ed Krcma discusses Robert Rauschenberg's illustrations to the Inferno (1958-61). He describes the context of art in New York in the late 1950s, and how Rauschenberg's engagement with Dante came at a low point in Rauschenberg's career. We consider how Rauschenberg's illustrations raise fascinating questions about historical contingency, vernacularity, artistic hierarchies and authority. 

Ed Krcma is Senior Lecturer in Art History at the University of East Anglia. 

The conversation is hosted by Matthew Treherne.