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rptv1 · 5 hours

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Limbo - The Innocent Souls

illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy by Gustav Doré

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“Lost are we, and are only so far punished, / that without hope we live on in desire”

(Inf. IV, 41-42)

#gustav dore #dante alighieri #divine comedy #dante's inferno

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rptv1 · 5 hours

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Noah curses Canaan

The Bible illustrations by Gustav Doré

“And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father ... And Noah awoke from his wine ... And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brethren … (Genesis 9:22-25)”

#gustav dore #biblical #bible #genesis #fine art

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rptv1 · 5 hours

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Kaiba ("oriental seahorse," - top)

Suisai ("water rhinoceros," - bottom)

by Hokusai, circa mid-1800s

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The Kaiba has tempted the authors of bestiaries in all lands, for the creature is easy to explain, simple to draw, and entirely logical.

Regarding the Suisai, it is difficult to know whether Hokusai is trying to depict an actual rhinoceros from hearsay or is following Chinese accounts based partly on actual descriptions and partly on pure fable. Obviously he had never seen the real animal, but he must have heard, possibly from the strangers who had brought the camel to Japan, of the armored creature which in real life is a good deal more preposterous than some of the inhabitants of the bestiaries.

In any case, he catches the dominant features of an actual rhinoceros head fairly well, misses completely on the body and tail, and comes up with his customary talons for feet.

#hokusai #japanese art #bestiary

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