Art, Symbol & Imagination
The terrace of envy
Seated and cloaked figures line a narrow ledge against a sheer wall. Dante and Virgil stand among them while the cliff drops into a pale chasm. The repeated hooded bodies turn the terrace into a shared place of penance. The printed question addresses the traveller who expects to return to life below. Doré balances the intimacy of that conversation with the terrifying depth beside the ledge, making the route both social and precarious.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "The terrace of envy" [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 88. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/dante-dore-87
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Source plate inspected individually; printed canto and lines checked independently of binding position. Editorial title; original scan tone retained.
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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 terrace of envy. Purgatory and Paradise: The Vision of Dante. Scan leaf 88. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/dante-dore-87