Art, Symbol & Imagination
The restless company rounds the cliff
A group of robed figures approaches along a narrow ledge beneath a dark sky. The immense rock wall holds them close to the edge of an open expanse of water. The caption places the sudden arrival in Purgatory XVIII. Doré makes movement collective and constrained, with the company following a route that gives little room to disperse. The water's horizontal lines counter the upright cliff and the varied inclinations of the approaching bodies. The image gives urgency a spatial form: the group advances together, but the mountain determines the direction and width of its passage.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "The restless company rounds the cliff" [editorial title]. In Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante, Dante Alighieri; translated by Henry Francis Cary; illustrated by Gustave Doré. New edition, 1901, 1901, Thompson & Thomas. Source scan leaf 108. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/dante-dore-107
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Original source design and caption inspected; composition retained with scan margins trimmed. No reconstructed or recoloured details.
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Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of DanteDante Alighieri; translated by Henry Francis Cary; illustrated by Gustave Doré1901More from this book
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Gustave Doré (design). The restless company rounds the cliff. Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante. Scan leaf 108. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/dante-dore-107