Art, Symbol & Imagination
Faces in the sphere of the moon
A kneeling traveller and a standing woman face several pale women appearing over clouds. The short caption describes faces ready to speak. Its corresponding passage in Paradiso III compares their faint appearance to reflections in clear glass or shallow water; Dante initially looks behind him for their supposed originals. The plate is bound before the Paradise text begins, which makes the exact caption essential to its identification. Doré renders the foreground visitor darker than the distant company, giving visual form to their difference without treating these figures as photographic apparitions.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "Faces in the sphere of the moon" [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 196. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/dante-dore-195
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Full plate and printed caption individually viewed. Matching canto passage read; misplaced bindings identified by caption, not physical adjacency. Original tone and printing wear retained.
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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). Faces in the sphere of the moon. Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante. Scan leaf 196. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/dante-dore-195