Art, Symbol & Imagination
The procession of the twenty-four elders
A long line of robed figures passes beside dark trees and low water, their bodies lit against the shadowed wood. A winged form appears above the rear of the procession. The Purgatory XXIX caption identifies twenty-four elders advancing beneath a beautiful sky. Doré presents their number as a continuous rhythm of upright forms rather than a diagram of individually labelled figures. The curving route links the near bodies with the more distant company. The woodland keeps the ceremony within the earthly paradise, while the elevated wings introduce the larger symbolic pageant that follows.
Read the source pageLoading your collection…
Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "The procession of the twenty-four elders" [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 170. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/dante-dore-169
Source details
- The procession of the twenty-four elders
- 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.
Sources
From the book
Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of DanteDante Alighieri; translated by Henry Francis Cary; illustrated by Gustave Doré1901More from this book
All 60 illustrations
Related illustrations
Cite this illustration
Gustave Doré (design). The procession of the twenty-four elders. Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante. Scan leaf 170. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/dante-dore-169