INNOCENT SOULS

Original 7 5/8 inch x 9 1/2 inch Engraving INNOCENT SOULS.

Virtuous pagans in Limbo. Virtuous pagan is a concept in Christian theology that addressed the problem of pagans who were never evangelized and consequently during their lifetime had no opportunity to recognize Christ, but nevertheless led virtuous lives, so that it seemed objectionable to consider them damned.

Text below the image: “Only so far afflicted, that we live desiring without hope”. Canto IV., lines 38, 39

Engraved by Jules Louis Fagnion (1813 – 1866). Wood engraver.

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.

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 the Inferno.

Published as a part work by Cassell and Company, Limited, London. May 1903 – September 1904.

Page size 13 1/4 inch x 10 inch

The engraving, on fairly thick paper, is in very good condition. Reverse side blank.