What is a major difference between Doré’s and Blake’s illustrations of Dante’s
Inferno?
A. Doré portrays Dante and Virgil as more angelic than human, while
Blake portrays them as completely human.
B. Doré depicts Dante and Virgil as traditional heroic characters,
while Blake’s characters are more childlike.
C. Doré uses smooth lines to create a calming effect, while Blake
uses jagged lines to give the feel of chaos.
D. Doré uses
bright colors to bring joy into the sinners’ world, while
Blake uses a lot of gray to raise questions about truth.
A compelling case can be made for either William Blake or Gustave Doré as the illustrator of Dante’s Inferno. Both artists created illustrations for the Divine Comedy. Putting oneself in Dante’s position requires considering his motivations in writing Inferno. One can then evaluate which artist’s themes and style seem most compatible with the author’s goals. Based on their relative popularity, one might favor Doré’s version of Inferno, which has become a standard for subsequent interpretations.
Expert Answers
If Dante had a time machine, he would have been able to see the illustrations that both William Blake and Gustave Doré created for the entire Divine Comedy, not just Inferno. He could then have chosen which artist’s vision most closely corresponded to his goals in creating the work. Neither artist tried to
approximate the artistic style of Dante’s time and place. Therefore, Dante would have to adjust his preferences to two different nineteenth-century styles. Color is one distinctive element that might influence Dante. William Blake’s illustrations are watercolors, while Doré’s are black-and-white lithographs. The use of color makes Blake’s images seem brighter than Doré’s and perhaps less despairing than Dante’s poetic vision. Blake also tends to fill the entire space, while Doré often
situates the figures within a bleak expanse, which evokes an appropriate sensation of hopelessness. When Doré’s Inferno volume was published in 1861, it was an immediate success and would eventually go into about two hundred more editions. Contemporary critics believed that the artist had perfectly captured the work’s essence. According to art historian Aida Audeh, that same year one critic wrote that the illustrated volume made them feel like Doré had actually been talking to
Dante. It seemed that the conception and the interpretation come from the same source, that Dante and Gustave Doré are communicating by occult and solemn conversations the secret of this Hell plowed by their souls, traveled, explored by them in every sense. Further Reading
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Asked by wiki @ 12/06/2021 in English viewed by 307 People
What is a major difference between Doré's and Blake's illustrations of Dante's Inferno?
A.Doré's illustrations depict characters and settings in a realistic way, while Blake's illustrations show a more unrealistic and stylized version of the story.
B.Doré's
illustrations vaguely portray sinners suffering, while Blake's illustrations portray the sinners' suffering more vividly.
C.Doré's illustrations present Virgil as an angelic being, while Blake's illustrations present Virgil like he is historically known.
D.Doré's illustrations show Dante as larger-than-life and courageous, while Blake's illustrations show Dante to be unaffected by the scenes.
Answered by wiki @ 12/06/2021
The right answer for the question that is being asked and shown above is that: "A.Doré's illustrations depict characters and settings in a realistic way, while Blake's illustrations show a more unrealistic and stylized version of the story. "
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