Art, Symbol & Imagination
Minos Judges the Incoming Souls
A large crouching figure with a coiling tail dominates the space above a smaller company of souls gathered at his feet. The fifth canto transforms the ancient king Minos into the judge who assigns souls to their circles. Doré makes the difference in scale especially sharp: the judge's muscular body and winding tail occupy nearly the entire picture, while the waiting figures are crowded into one corner. The caption identifies Minos. The tail is part of the poem's account of judgment, not a feature of the historical king. This gallery record therefore names the figure as Dante's Minos and keeps his literary role distinct from other traditions.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "Minos Judges the Incoming Souls" [editorial title]. In Dante's Inferno, Dante Alighieri. New Edition, undated supplied scan, undated edition, Thompson & Thomas. Source scan leaf 45. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/inferno-dore-38
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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Gustave Doré (design). Minos Judges the Incoming Souls. Dante's Inferno. Scan leaf 45. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/inferno-dore-38