Art, Symbol & Imagination
Geryon Waits at the Edge
A human-faced creature with large wings and a curling, pointed tail lies below two travellers on a rocky ledge. The neighbouring canto identifies Geryon as the image of fraud, combining a reassuring face with a dangerous body and tail. Doré expands that composite form into an immense winged creature, making the face the nearest point of contact with the visitors. The engraving is an interpretation of the poem rather than a diagram of every detail in its description. The high ledge and coiled tail organise the pause before the travellers entrust themselves to this uncertain conveyance.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "Geryon Waits at the Edge" [editorial title]. In Dante's Inferno, Dante Alighieri. New Edition, undated supplied scan, undated edition, Thompson & Thomas. Source scan leaf 122. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/inferno-dore-115
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Full original plate and caption individually inspected; neighbouring canto read. Editorial title. Source tone and intrinsic damage retained; rotation applies only to Gallery derivatives.
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Gustave Doré (design). Geryon Waits at the Edge. Dante's Inferno. Scan leaf 122. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/inferno-dore-115