Canto IX. Circle 6 / The Heretics (The Furies); The Gates Opened by the Angel from Heaven c. 15th century

Editor: Here we have an anonymous engraving, likely from the late 15th or early 16th century, illustrating Canto IX from Dante's *Inferno*. The scene is stark, and evokes a sense of foreboding. What stands out to you as you examine this print? Curator: The gates, clearly, are central. Their symbolic weight is immense. In Dante's *Inferno*, gates represent transitions, but here, more specifically, the limits of reason. The Furies stand defiant, guardians of a worldview that rejects divine intervention, while the angel descends as an undeniable force, bypassing human struggle. Consider what this imagery says about the Renaissance view of the classical world versus the Christian one. Editor: So, the image is a clash of belief systems, depicted through symbolic figures and architecture? Curator: Precisely. It's about the cultural memory of these figures. The engraving reveals how these images are adapted to shape meaning. Editor: It is interesting to consider how different eras interpret and reuse the same symbols.