Art, Symbol & Imagination
Dante Follows Virgil
Two small travellers proceed into a deep wooded corridor between rough trunks and pale exposed roots. The closing movement of the first canto turns speech into a journey. Virgil leads and Dante follows, accepting a route different from the ascent he had tried alone. The foreground tree and its spreading roots occupy far more space than the people, keeping the surrounding world imposing. A patch of light makes the leading figures visible without revealing their destination. The illustration marks the decision to move onward; its force comes from scale and direction rather than a dramatic gesture.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "Dante Follows Virgil" [editorial title]. In Dante's Inferno, Dante Alighieri. New Edition, undated supplied scan, undated edition, Thompson & Thomas. Source scan leaf 27. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/inferno-dore-20
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Full source plate visually inspected; original scan tone retained. Editorial title. Sideways bound plates turned upright in the derivative only; source and reader unchanged.
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Dante's InfernoDante AlighieriUndated editionMore from this book
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Cite this illustration
Gustave Doré (design). Dante Follows Virgil. Dante's Inferno. Scan leaf 27. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/inferno-dore-20