Skip to main content

Rachel Owen's photographic prints created in response to the 'Inferno' poem in Dante's Divine Comedy

 Single Item
MS. 13147

  • Request
    this

Rachel Owen's 'The Inferno illustrations' are photographic prints created in response to the 'Inferno' poem in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy. They are based on a series of collages of mixed media: pieces of photographic material, tracing paper, gold and silver pen, coloured pencils, acrylic paint, glue, felt tip pens, graphite and cut up photocopies. The works were on display at the Pembroke College JCR Art Gallery in Oxford between 18 October and 1 December 2017. In the exhibition the prints were accompanied by selected reproductions of pages from the late 14th-century Italian manuscript ‘MS. Holkham misc. 48’ in the Bodleian Library’s collection. This set is no. 2 in the limited edition of 34 sets of prints. Each print comes with a certificate of authenticity dated 4 December 2017 and signed by Fiona Whitehouse, Executor of the Estate of Rachel Owen and Jonathan Tabinor, on behalf of Carbon Colour Printers.

Dates

  • Creation: 2014-2016

Extent

1 box

Language of Materials

  • English

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to copy material must be obtained from the rights holder (Fiona Whitehouse).

Preferred Citation

Oxford, Bodleian Libraries [followed by shelfmark and folio or page reference, e.g. MS. 13147, fol. 1].

Please see our help page for further guidance on citing archives and manuscripts.

Shelfmark:

MS. 13147

Collection ID (for staff)

CMD ID 13147

Abstract

Rachel Owen's 'The Inferno illustrations' comprising 34 photographic prints of mixed-media collage works, created in response to the 'Inferno' poem in Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.

Biographical / Historical

Rachel Owen was born in Cardiff in 1968 and studied Fine Art and Italian at the University of Exeter and painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. She attained a PhD in the ‘History of illuminated manuscripts of Dante’s Commedia’ at the University of London in 2001. She taught Italian Literature at Pembroke and other colleges at the University of Oxford. She was married to Thom Yorke, a musician and composer, and the singer and principal songwriter of the rock band 'Radiohead'.

Other Finding Aids

Full descriptions of the prints are in Pembroke College JCR Art Gallery, Rachel Owen: the Inferno illustrations. (Oxford, 2017).

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Donated by Fiona Whitehouse, executor of Rachel Owen's estate, April 2018.

Title
Catalogue of Rachel Owen's 'The Inferno illustrations'
Status
Published
Author
Finding aid prepared by Margaret Czepiel
Date
2019
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Bodleian Libraries Repository

Contact:
Weston Library
Broad Street
Oxford OX1 3BG United Kingdom