Art, Symbol & Imagination
Nimrod and His Horn
An enormous crowned figure turns his head above a rough parapet, holding a long horn across his body. The poem introduces the giant through a cry that Virgil treats as unintelligible, then directs him to his horn. Doré places the horn’s opening behind the shoulder and lets the giant’s torso occupy almost the whole plate. The composition makes size and frustrated communication visible together. The caption supplies the guide’s rebuke; the adjoining text names Nimrod. This is Dante’s literary adaptation of a biblical figure, rather than an archaeological reconstruction or an independent account of his appearance.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "Nimrod and His Horn" [editorial title]. In Dante's Inferno, Dante Alighieri. New Edition, undated supplied scan, undated edition, Thompson & Thomas. Source scan leaf 208. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/inferno-dore-201
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). Nimrod and His Horn. Dante's Inferno. Scan leaf 208. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/inferno-dore-201