Paradiso 

Curator: Gustave Doré's engraving, "Paradiso," presents us with a vision of the heavens, inspired by Dante's *Divine Comedy*. The figures seem to float effortlessly in the ethereal expanse, dwarfing human understanding and inviting deeper reflection on spiritual ascendance. What’s your initial response to this landscape of the divine? Editor: The sheer volume of celestial beings crafted with such delicate lines is remarkable. The medium, engraving, feels perfectly suited to this otherworldly scene. Did Doré work directly from Dante’s writing to conceive this or how did this come together? Curator: He did illustrate several literary classics including Dante, but also Milton and Cervantes. One might see his works as responding to similar social anxieties of the period through these symbolic engravings. These illustrations often address the complex and sometimes traumatic narratives of spiritual and emotional upheaval. Editor: Right, that makes sense. Considering that printing would have been fairly new to broader society during that period, it makes you think about the labour in multiplying images of these heavens to show a new society. What impact do you think an engraving like this would have had on its audience? The material reality of the image so at odds with the immateriality it strives to depict… Curator: Engravings allowed for widespread access to religious and historical narratives, playing a vital role in shaping social and cultural perceptions. This piece, "Paradiso," would have offered solace, inspiration, and perhaps even a gentle form of social critique within a rapidly changing world, using biblical themes to create political, aesthetic and subjective spaces. Editor: Dore has indeed captured a sense of something much bigger at play. His technique reminds us of how physical the process of representing an idea can be. These detailed marks communicate volumes, giving an almost textile like material finish to the final picture. Curator: This print, I think, opens dialogues between the human and divine, showing the journey of self discovery. Editor: A rewarding and productive contradiction – something solid and material creating illusions of ethereal beauty. I will never look at an engraving in the same way again.