The depiction of the scene is inspired by some verses of Dante's Comedy. In particular:
Quivi mi cinse sì com’altrui piacque:
oh maraviglia! ché qual elli scelse
l’umile pianta, cotal si rinacque
subitamente là onde l’avelse.
(Purgatory I, 133-136)
Non aspettar mio dir più né mio cenno;
libero, dritto e sano è tuo arbitrio,
e fallo fora non fare a suo senno:
per ch’io te sovra te corono e mitrio.
(Purgatory XXVII, 139-142)
As soon as he comes out of the «mar si crudele» ("so cruel sea", Purg. I 3) of infernal darkness, the pilgrim is the protagonist of a purification rite and, with his face washed by dewdrops and his life surrounded by a «giunco schietto» ("pure rush", Purg. I 95) symbol of humility, he can finally face the second stage of his otherworldly path.
Dante wants the rush of humility to surround the hips and not the head. The free interpretation, put to good use for this painting, led to the generation of a real crown: no longer the resounding laurel of wisdom, but a rush, to which human nature, in its fragility, is more easily approached.
The essentiality of the portrayed silhouettes makes the theme of spiritual rebirth even more powerful, which also characterizes other works in the exhibition. This is what happens, in particular, in the ongoing research (see also Invitation to return to plants) on the idea of metamorphosis, often of a floral nature, the result of a close contiguity (and continuity) between human and plant forms.
