Dante's Purgatorio

"What aileth thee, that still thou look'st to earth?"

Began my leader; while the angelic shape

A little over us his station took. (Canto XIX., lines 51-53)

PURGATORY : is the second part of Dante's 'Divine Comedy'. We find the Poet, with his guide Virgil, ascending the terraces of the Mount of Purgatory inhabited by those doing penance to expiate their sins on Earth. There are the proud - forced to circle their terrace for aeons bent double in humility; the slothful - running around crying out examples of zeal and sloth; while the lustful are purged by fire. Dante's Purgatory is a lofty island-mountain, the only land in the southern Hemisphere, at the antipodes of Jerusalem. On the lower irregular slopes are the souls whose penitence has, for some reason, been delayed in life and whose purgation is now delayed in death. Above that is the base of Purgatory proper, the place of active purgation, which consists of seven level terraces surrounding the mountain and rising one above another, connected by stairways in the rock. On these terraces the seven deadly sins are purged by penance from the souls that have been beset by them. On the summit of the mountain is the Garden of Eden, or Earthly Paradise, from which the purged souls ascend to Heaven.

A Beautiful 1870 Wood Engraving after the painting of Gustave Doré. Paul Gustave Dore (1832-1883), famous French illustrator, engraver, painter, and sculptor. He is best known for his highly imaginative and dramatic illustrations. At first he did his own engraving on wood, but as his success grew, his later work was done in collaboration with numerous engravers. His lively illustrations for some 120 books, including Paradise Lost, the Divine Comedy (1861), Don Quixote (1862), the Bible (1866), Balzac's Droll Tales, the works of Rabelais, the Fables of La Fontaine, and other classics, are still admired. He particularly excelled in weird, fantastic scenes. Less popular today are his works in painting and sculpture. This quality engraving originates from an 1870 art publication with a collection of plates, giving some idea of the variety as well as the power of Doré's genius.

PUBLISHED DATE	1870 LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK
PUBLISHER	CASSELL PETTER & GALPIN
ARTIST	GUSTAVE DORE
ENGRAVERS	PANNEMAKER
PAGE SIZE: approx	14 1/4 INCHES x 10 1/4 INCHES
IMAGE SIZE: approx	9 3/4 X 8 INCHES
CONDITION	Excellent Condition. The image is clean, clear and sharp with beautiful depth and detail. Blank on Reverse side. On heavy stock. Includes the Descriptive Tissue.This beautiful rare item would look great matted and framed. An art supply store can provide you with a selection of frames for old art treasures.