Art, Symbol & Imagination
Myrrha among the Impersonators
A crouching bare woman occupies the foreground beneath an arch of rock as the two clothed travellers watch nearby. The adjacent speech names Myrrha and associates her with assuming a false appearance, placing a figure from ancient myth beside Schicchi in the ditch of falsifiers. Doré gives the solitary crouching body a different rhythm from the upright travellers, while the overhanging rock encloses the encounter. The caption provides the name; the image itself does not depict the earlier mythical episode. This Gallery entry describes Dante’s use of the story rather than presenting its accusation as a statement about an actual woman.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "Myrrha among the Impersonators" [editorial title]. In Dante's Inferno, Dante Alighieri. New Edition, undated supplied scan, undated edition, Thompson & Thomas. Source scan leaf 207. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/inferno-dore-200
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). Myrrha among the Impersonators. Dante's Inferno. Scan leaf 207. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/inferno-dore-200