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SAVOYV4_icon5_blake_uberti

This halftone reproduction of a water-colour drawing by Blake for Dante’s Inferno is in landscape orientation. The image shows a scene of a burning mausoleum with four figures in the foreground in the circle of Hell reserved for heretics. Dante stands on the far left of the foreground facing the viewer, but with his head turned to face to the figures emerging from the flames. He is wearing a plain long and loose robe. To his right is a slab tilted up to reveal an opening in the surface that he is standing on. The opening has flames rising out. Just behind the slab is a series of three more flames. To the right of the opening is another standing, robed figure, possibly Farinata rising out of the tomb. His body is facing the viewer, but turned slightly to the right. His left hand is open and raised out in front with his elbow bent at a ninety degree angle. He has his right arm tucked just behind his back. his head is tilted down to look at the man below to the right, who is emerging out of a second fiery pit. Only his upper body is visible. He is turned towards the left and iis wearing a partially visible armoured shirt, with flames licking the front. He has on a helmet too. His left hand in resting on the ground and his right hand is raised towards the man standing to his direct left, with the middle and pointer fingers extended separate from each other and the rest of the fingers. He has a long white beard and tufts of white hair on his head protrude out from the front of his helmet. To the right of this man is another man who is deeper in the same pit, only showing his shoulders and head. He is facing the viewer, but his head is turned towards the figures to his left. His hands are gripped onto the edge of the surface. He has a white beard and white hair. His eyes are wide and his mouth is downturned. Behind these four figures is a castle wall with rectangular merlon and embrasure rise and falls along the top edge. The wall is parallel to the bottom edge of the image from the left side until about the centre and then starts to recede back angled up to the right. Behind the castle wall on the right side of the background is a dark hill. In the very background, essentially the top quarter of the page, is a skyline of a town. There are about six building roofs along the horizon that are visible. In front of the building roofs is a line of flames. Behind that part of the scene is a cloud, dark sky. In the bottom right corner there is the text: “HELL [caps] Canto 10”. The image is surrounded by a single black line border.