Art, Symbol & Imagination
The Procession of the Heavy Cloaks
The travellers meet a slow company of hooded figures whose broad garments fill the sheltered passage beneath a rock overhang. The sixth ditch contains the hypocrites, wearing cloaks that shine outside but are heavy with lead within. Doré gives the garments greater visual weight than the faces, making the procession appear burdened before its material is explained. The source caption addresses the living Tuscan visitor. The robes are a literary image of a mismatch between outward appearance and inward condition; the Gallery describes Dante’s arrangement without treating it as a factual judgement about a present-day religious community.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "The Procession of the Heavy Cloaks" [editorial title]. In Dante's Inferno, Dante Alighieri. New Edition, undated supplied scan, undated edition, Thompson & Thomas. Source scan leaf 165. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/inferno-dore-158
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Full original plate and caption individually inspected; exact neighbouring canto read. Editorial title. Source tone and intrinsic damage retained; rotation applies only to Gallery derivatives.
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Gustave Doré (design). The Procession of the Heavy Cloaks. Dante's Inferno. Scan leaf 165. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/inferno-dore-158