Dante and the Spirits of the Moon
This is an original art print. It is 126 years old.
Artist: Gustave Dore
Type of Print: Original Antique Wood Engraving
Size of Paper: 9 3/4" x 12 1/2"
Size of Image: 7 3/4" x 9 3/4"
Printed in 1887 by Cassell Publishing
Printed on one side only; blank on the reverse. You will receive two sheets of paper; one is the art print and the other is the description.
Condition: Light signs of age. Yellowing around edges of paper. The image area is in excellent condition.
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More information about the print:
Guided by the spirit of Beatrice, after his arrival in Paradise, Dante visits the Moon, and there meets with Piccarda, the sister of Forese, who tells him that that planet is the abode of those who, after making profession of chastity and a religious life, have been compelled to violate their vows. She alludes more particularly to her own case, and that of Constance, daughter of Ruggieri, King of Sicily, both of whom were forcibly taken out of convents, and married. Although these acts were against their own will, they had the effect, according to rigid Catholic doctrine, of excluding the victims from the highest beatitudes of Heaven; but they are blest and happy, in a minor degree, in the lucent fields of the Moon. Of Piccarda a very striking legend is told, though Dante himself does not mention it. It is said that, immediately after her forcible marriage, she recommended herself to Christ for the preservation of her purity, and that in a little while her whole body was smitten with a horrible leprosy, so that in a few days she died.
The opal twilights of the Moon are beautifully rendered by M. Dore and the figures are full of a sweet and tender grace.
