Lucifer, King of Hell

This engraving belongs to the series Gustave Doré devoted to Dante’s Inferno, published in 1861. It illustrates the last canto (XXXIV): at the bottom of the ninth circle, Dante and Virgil come upon Lucifer. Against all expectation, Hell does not burn here, it freezes. The fallen angel is held captive in the ice of Cocytus, and the icy wind raised by the beating of his bat-like wings maintains his own prison.

Lucifer rises from the ice, his fist against his mouth, before his immense outspread wings. At the top right, on a ledge of ice, two small figures watch him: Dante and Virgil. In the foreground, the damned lie on frozen blocks or barely emerge from them. Doré sets the colossal mass of the monster against the small size of the two poets, and this contrast of scale is what overwhelms the viewer. Rather than a triumphant devil, he shows a fallen sovereign, motionless, frozen in his own fall.

Doré drew his compositions, then specialist engravers cut the wood. This plate bears the name of Héliodore Pisan, who engraved a large part of his illustrations.

In the Héritage range, this work is linked to Tom Cuzor, who acknowledges Gustave Doré as an influence.

Original work: Gustave Doré (French, 1832-1883), draughtsman, and Héliodore Pisan (French, 1822-1890), engraver, Lucifer, King of Hell (Lucifer, roi des enfers), wood engraving illustrating Canto XXXIV of Dante’s Inferno, first published in 1861. Copy reproduced: plate no. 73 of Dante, Göttliche Komödie, volume 1, Die Hölle (Berlin, W. Moeser, 1870), held by the National Library of Poland (Polona digital library). Public domain work; digital image from Wikimedia Commons.

This art print is a reproduction, printed in France by Atelier Kyodai Print on 230 gsm premium matte paper. It is available in two sizes: 30 × 40 cm and 50 × 70 cm.

Demons, fallen angels and raging skies: Gustave Doré, the engraver who gave a face to the great myths of the Western world.

Gustave Doré page →

230 gsm premium matte paper
Printed by Atelier Kyodai Print

Paper and process are chosen with the artist and the workshop to respect the original work. Every copy is checked before shipping. Printed in France.

Magnetic hanging bars: one 2 cm-wide natural wood bar at the top, one at the bottom, holding the print with magnets, with no holes and no damage to the paper. Lengths of 31, 51 and 71 cm to match the sizes, with a hanging cord. Delivered in the tube with your print.

Wooden frame: natural-finish wooden frame with a protective plexiglass front. Available for the 30 × 40 and 50 × 70 cm sizes. Your work arrives already framed, ready to hang: it ships in a box, not in a tube.

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