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Giant and whore atop the transformed cart, John Flaxman, engraving.

Giant and whore atop the transformed cart, Gustave Doré, woodcut

John Flaxman and Gustave Doré both depict the same scene from canto 32 of Paradiso. At the end of the canto 32, the chariot which Beatrice had arrive on is transformed into a group of beasts. Dante sees “ungirt whore” sitting upon them (line 149).

Doré’s rendition, the giant has his hands placed on the woman, as if he is forcing her down. In Flaxman’s, she appears more of a willing participant, with the giant’s arm loosely around her waist, but without the forcefulness of Doré’s. In Flaxman’s, the giant wears a crown, carries a sword behind him. The woman wears a feathered hat on her head. This lends to a more regal look to the pair, than in Doré’s, where the giant is barely dressed, giving him the look of a savage and unkempt, more animal than man. The back of the chariot can still be seen in Flaxman’s depiction, and presumedly the transformation into the beasts has not fully taken place yet. However, for Doré’s work, the chariot has already completely disappeared from view.

Doré displays the beasts that the chariot has transformed in as looking straight forth, towards the audience of the artwork, whereas Flaxman’s beasts are looking to the side of the frame. The beasts looking forward appear more fearsome, because they can be seen as targeting the viewer.

Dante writes that the woman “turned her greedy, wandering eye towards” him, and the giant reacted in anger to this (line 154-159). Flaxman shows the giant and the woman looking at each other, albeit from the corner of their eyes. However, with Dante’s account in mind, she is most likely looking towards the poet, and the giant is looking at the woman in annoyance. In Doré’s depiction, the woman and the giant are both looking in the same general direction. The giant’s head is tilted downwards and to his right, away from the woman. Since Dante tells us the woman is looking at him, the giant’s gaze must also be on Dante.

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