Art, Symbol & Imagination
The golden ladder of Paradise
A shining ascent crowded with luminous figures rises through immense banks of cloud. Two small travellers stand at its lower edge beneath the descending procession. The Paradise XXI caption describes splendours descending the steps in such multitude that heaven seems emptied of its lights. Doré makes ascent and descent share one vertical route, with the cloud opening providing the ladder's scale. The repeated bodies give the structure a living rhythm rather than a rigid architectural outline. The small observers remain beneath the movement, looking into a passage they cannot measure by ordinary distance.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "The golden ladder of Paradise" [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 320. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/dante-dore-319
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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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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Gustave Doré (design). The golden ladder of Paradise. Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante. Scan leaf 320. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/dante-dore-319