Art, Symbol & Imagination
The Heavenly Bands Descend
A luminous procession of winged figures crosses a high ridge while two human bodies bend low upon the foreground rock. Trees and shaded slopes separate the two levels of the scene. The caption follows the heavenly bands entering Paradise in Book XI. Doré makes arrival a movement that the foreground pair can neither command nor easily share. Their lowered bodies differ from the upright celestial company, while the curving ridge directs the procession through a landscape still recognisably earthly. Light establishes the visitors' presence without removing the weight of the human response below.
Read the source pageLoading your collection…
Citation
Gustave Doré (design). "The Heavenly Bands Descend" [editorial title]. In Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré, John Milton; illustrated by Gustave Doré; edited by Henry C. Walsh. Undated John W. Lovell Company edition; exact publication year unverified, undated edition, John W. Lovell Company. Source scan leaf 347. Lumitheca. /gallery/image/milton-dore-346
Source details
Editorial title and description. Source details from the Library catalogue.
Original source design and caption inspected; composition retained with scan margins trimmed. No reconstructed or recoloured details.
Sources
From the book
Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave DoréJohn Milton; illustrated by Gustave Doré; edited by Henry C. WalshUndated editionMore from this book
All 40 illustrations
Related illustrations
Cite this illustration
Gustave Doré (design). The Heavenly Bands Descend. Paradise Lost: Illustrated by Gustave Doré. Scan leaf 347. Lumitheca. https://lumitheca.com/gallery/image/milton-dore-346