Art, Symbol & Imagination
The hungry spirits recognise a living traveller
Thin, lightly clothed figures gather around two standing travellers upon a rocky shelf. Their bent knees, hollow faces and forward gestures contrast with the visitors' fuller robes. The caption belongs to Purgatory XXIV and records the shades' astonishment at a living person. Doré makes recognition an encounter between visibly different bodily conditions. The pale group gathers against a dark wooded background, concentrating the scene upon faces and directed hands. The travellers' stillness allows the surrounding figures' need and curiosity to remain legible without turning the company into a uniform ring.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "The hungry spirits recognise a living traveller" [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 133. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/dante-dore-132
Source details
- The hungry spirits recognise a living traveller
- Divine Comedy
- Gustave Doré (design)
- Historical book illustration
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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From the book
Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of DanteDante Alighieri; translated by Henry Francis Cary; illustrated by Gustave Doré1901More from this book
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Cite this illustration
Gustave Doré (design). The hungry spirits recognise a living traveller. Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante. Scan leaf 133. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/dante-dore-132