Art, Symbol & Imagination
Francesca Tells Her Story
A hovering woman addresses the two robed travellers beside a rocky ledge, with another figure close behind her in the moving air. The meeting pauses the general sweep of the storm long enough for Francesca's speech. Her extended arm and forward-facing body contrast with the listening visitors, making storytelling the centre of the composition. The companion remains close, but it is Francesca who speaks in the poem. The caption links their shared death to love and points toward the future punishment of the killer. Doré illustrates a narrated plea within Dante's moral landscape, preserving the tension between the lovers' account and their assigned place in Hell.
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Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "Francesca Tells Her Story" [editorial title]. In Dante's Inferno, Dante Alighieri. New Edition, undated supplied scan, undated edition, Thompson & Thomas. Source scan leaf 50. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/inferno-dore-43
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). Francesca Tells Her Story. Dante's Inferno. Scan leaf 50. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/inferno-dore-43