A Timeless Love Story

The moral of the story is that love is something beautiful and noble, and those who resent it or make fun of it might be struck with divine punishment.

Nastagio degli Onesti, is comparable to modern love stories. It’s a story about unrequited love, self-doubt and longing, healing and, eventually, a happy ending. There’s also a rather satisfying revenge plan, which is a powerful and almost out-of-character move for the protagonist. Everything comes together with the help of a spirit, a lost soul who tells Nastagio his own tale of woe and who helps him overcome one of life’s greatest obstacles.

This novella has inspired many artists. A first example is the painting above: it depicts the scene where Nastagio stumbles upon the ghosts of the woman and the knight for the first time. It was painted in 1483 by none other than Sandro Botticelli, also known for La primavera, The birth of Venus and Venus and Mars, some of the most famous pieces of art we still have to this day.K. C. Blau. (2013, october 6). The Holy Lance (“Spear of Destiny”) & the Power to Rule the World. Retrieved from Vienna Muses The painting is called The Story of Nastagio degli Onesti, part one. The ‘part one’ is merely used to indicate that this painting depicts the first half of the novella. Botticelli made four of these paintings, and together they tell the full story like a medieval series of photos.

The woman and the knight are easy to recognize, but there are also two men dressed in the same clothes and a tent all the way to the left where other people are standing together. This is because Botticelli wanted his painting to tell the story by combining different scenes together as one, with Nastagio’s character development as the main objective. The tent on the left represents Nastagio himself and his friends and family who convince him to leave the city. The second man, still on the left side of the painting, is a depressed Nastagio wandering the forest, thinking about his unrequited love. The third Nastagio is holding a stick, ready to defend the woman being chased by the knight and two dogs.See Olsen, C. (1992-2006). Gross expenditure: botticelli's nastagio degli onesti panels. Art History, pp. 146-170.

These four paintings were so popular during this time period that another painter, Ghirlandaio, was tasked to replicate them in the same style.See Hoakley. (2018, November 29). The Decameron: Nastagio degli Onesti, the penalty of the pure in body. Retrieved from The Eclectic Light Company Unfortunately only two of his replica’s remain, but the resemblance with Botticelli’s original paintings is clearly visible.

Two other artworks are also worth mentioning (well, there are more artworks, such as the illustration). Salvador Dali L’Enfer des Beautes Cruelles of 1972 is one in a portfolio of ten engravings that Dali dedicated to the Decameron. Schneider and Verlag published a book about these artworks. If you look closely at the illustration, you will see that the knight’s weapon of choice is a spear, and not a rapier. Dali might have decided to go for a spear, because of the dramatic effect where the knight can pierce the damsel while remaining seated on his steed. The choice for ‘spear’ and ‘lance’, however, has surfaced in more than one translation of the Decameron. The second artwork is Petru Rusu's engraving of this novella (he made etchings for each of the novellas). Some see Chinese influences in the style, others see a style of Mexican engraving.For a long analysis and the other 99 engravings, see artadiction.com

Another adaptation might be surprising. According to Jamie Adair, the story of Nastagio degli Onesti and Botticelli’s paintings may have also inspired the depiction of the Purple Wedding in the HBO series Game of Thrones. This episode, the Lion and the Rose, also opens with the hunt of a woman. She is chased by a man and his dogs, after which the woman is brutally murdered. Other similarities occur later in the episode, from the pine forest in which both weddings take place to the red uniforms the servants wear. Other smaller details from the paintings, such as sigils or a jousting match, bear a striking resemblance to the series adaptation. Both elements shown in the paintings as well as in the chasing-scene make it very likely that the makers of the Game of Thrones series have been inspired by (and have even copied) this adaptation of Nastagio degli Onesti for this episode.Jamie Adair. (2014, september 19). A cursed match? Botticelli & the Purple Wedding. Retrieved from History behind game of thrones