Art, Symbol & Imagination
The Travellers Meet the Waiting Spirits
Two robed travellers stand below a steep ledge where a long company of pale figures gathers. Open sky and a distant line of smaller bodies extend the meeting beyond the foreground. The printed caption places the episode in Purgatory III. Doré separates the approaching pair from the waiting multitude through height, giving the encounter a visible obstacle before conversation can begin. The nearly continuous cliff surface keeps the travellers together, while the pale company above introduces a different rhythm of motion. The scene makes approach a negotiation between levels rather than an uninterrupted walk.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "The Travellers Meet the Waiting Spirits" [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 29. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/dante-dore-28
Source details
- The travellers meet the waiting spirits
- 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
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Cite this illustration
Gustave Doré (design). The Travellers Meet the Waiting Spirits. Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante. Scan leaf 29. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/dante-dore-28