DANTE AND VIRGIL IN THE HAPPY VALLEY 1885 Gustave Doré ANTIQUE ENGRAVING

Original 9 3/4 inch x 7 3/4 inch Engraving titled DANTE AND VIRGIL IN THE HAPPY VALLEY.

When Dante and Virgil enter Purgatory they find themselves in an “exquisite valley, of which we read that gold and silver thrice refined, scarlet dye, Indian wood of lucid colours, and fresh emeralds newly broken, would have been surpassed in brilliance by the herbs and flowers growing profusely on the slopes”. In the air above them are “two angels, with two flame-illumin’d swords” and advancing towards them, a serpent.

Illustration by Gustave Doré (1832 - 1883). The most popular and successful French book illustrator of the middle of the 19th century. Doré became widely known for his illustrations to such books as Danté’s Inferno (1861), Don Quixote (1862), and the Bible (1866), and he helped to give European currency to the illustrated book of large format. He was so prolific that at one time he employed more than forty wood engravers. His work is characterized by an eclectic mix of Michelangelesque nudes, northern traditions of sublime landscape, and a highly spirited love of the grotesque and bizarre.
Doré began work on his illustrations for the Divine Comedy in 1855 at a time when there was a renewed interest in Dante in France. Doré himself financed the publication of the Inferno in 1861 and this was so successful that the Purgatory and Paradise were published by Hachette in 1868 as a single volume. Subsequently, Doré's Dante illustrations appeared in roughly 200 editions in many languages.

Engraved by Ad Ligny. Wood-engraver of book-illustrations, notably after Gustave Doré.

Illustration for Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy” widely considered to be the preeminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. This illustration is from Paradiso.

This edition from Cassell’s ‘Doré Gallery’ published in 1885.

Page size 12 1/4 inch x 9 1/8 inch

The engraving is in very good condition. Reverse side blank.