It is here where the hideous Harpies build their nests Gustave Dore (1832-1883)
Gustave Dore – It is here where the hideous Harpies build their nests
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Painter: Gustave Dore
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During his artistic life, the artist created more than 500 illustrations for famous works, including both fairy tales and biblical subjects. Dante Doré began writing his first illustrations for The Divine Comedy at the age of ten and continued for many years. This multi-year work became one of the artist’s most memorable creations. In the illustration "The Forest of Suicides," Doré depicts the seventh circle of Hell described by Dante.
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Description of Gustave Doré’s illustration "The Suicide Forest"
Description of Gustave Doré’s illustration "The Suicide Forest"
During his artistic life, the artist created more than 500 illustrations for famous works, including both fairy tales and biblical subjects.
Dante Doré began writing his first illustrations for The Divine Comedy at the age of ten and continued for many years. This multi-year work became one of the artist’s most memorable creations.
In the illustration "The Forest of Suicides," Doré depicts the seventh circle of Hell described by Dante. People who have committed violence against themselves are embodied as trees, bent, naked and exhausted.
On the branches of these people-trees sit harpies, Greek mythological creatures with the torso of a bird of prey, having naked female breasts and a human face. They move from branch to branch, causing unbearable pain to the martyrs, reminding and punishing them for their deeds. Every movement of the harpy aims at tormenting the trees.
The dense forest of human trees is depicted with an impressive sense of disgust and pain. The harpies seem to smirk, trampling with their paws and scratching with their claws every twig of the afflicted.
The pseudo-romantic style in which Gustave Doré worked astounds us with his meticulous sketching and selection of the smallest details. He didn’t just depict what his imagination had generated, but brought what was happening into full realism so that the viewer was not arbitrarily an eyewitness.
Dore was so gifted with talent that even without an art education he got his first job at the age of 15. The illustrations he created were poignant to the core.
Becoming an established artist with age, Doré continued to create spiritualized, absolutely fantastic works, clearly showing the depth and sorrow of the story from within.
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The central figure, positioned on the lower right side, appears to be addressing the assembled group with a gesture that suggests authority or perhaps incitement. His posture is dynamic, his gaze directed outward, while the other figures seem to react to his presence – some with expressions of apprehension, others with what might be interpreted as complicity.
Several winged beings are perched within the trees branches and around its base, their forms blending somewhat with the surrounding foliage. This integration suggests a symbiotic relationship between these creatures and their environment; they are not merely inhabitants but integral components of this unsettling ecosystem. The artist’s rendering of their faces is particularly striking – a combination of human and avian features evokes a sense of monstrousness and otherness.
Beyond the immediate group, fainter figures recede into the background, hinting at a larger community or perhaps a hierarchy within this strange society. A body of water lies in the distance, offering a limited visual escape from the claustrophobic density of the foreground. The absence of light sources contributes to the overall feeling of entrapment and despair.
Subtextually, the work seems to explore themes of corruption, societal decay, and the blurring of boundaries between humanity and animality. The presence of wings – a traditional symbol of aspiration or divine connection – is here twisted into something sinister, suggesting a perversion of higher ideals. The gathering itself implies a shared guilt or complicity in some unknown transgression. The overall effect is one of profound unease, inviting contemplation on the darker aspects of human nature and the potential for moral degradation.