The two paintings Luther and Calvin entering Hell are being led to the gates of hell by a multitude of little demons, insects and imaginary animals. Seated on moving carcasses, the two reformers rather seem to enjoy their ride, as if they finally arrived at home. The two canvases were painted in England; they are both signed Egbert van Heemskerck, the name of two painters (father and son) active in England around the late 17th to early 18th century whose work is difficult to distinguish. The paintings are in a satirical vein reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch and David Teniers the Younger. They were meant for private use and probably commissioned by a Dutch-speaking patron, possibly someone close to the pro-catholic Jacobite party.
Gates of Hell-PLAZA
The event celebrated the six gates that were preserved at East River Plaza following city requirements that caused the gates to be replaced at the 125th street corridor. The Blumenfeld Development Company and the Save the Gates of Harlem worked together to ensure the community could still enjoy the artwork by displaying the gates at the Plaza.
The Divine Comedy, Dante's Inferno Canto III brings readers face to face to the beginning of the end. Canto III, the exposition, brings us to the "Gates of Hell". Not many people desire to gaze upon these gates engulfed with pure-evil and encased with treacherous lands. As they exhume deeper, and deeper into the darker regions of the "underworld" they will open their eyes to what is, rather than what was. The Inferno. That is what lies ahead for Virgil and Dante. Canto III of Dante's Inferno delivers a powerful main idea which supports the personified "Hell" that Dante and Virgil journey into. Main Idea, the most important information that tells more about the overall idea of a paragraph, story, or section of a text. Canto III has a very elaborate main idea. To begin with, we find ourselves with Dante and Virgil reaching the gates of Hell. Once inside, Dante says, "Master, what is that I hear? Who are / those people so defeated by their pain?" (Mandelbaum 32-33). Dante and Virgil are in the anti-inferno, a place which resides within Hell, but is not a part of it. Virgil describes the "anti-inferno" and the obscure noises that Dante hears: This miserable way / is taken by the sorry souls of those / who lived without disgrace and without praise. / They now commingle with the coward angles, / the company of those who were not rebels / nor faithful to their God, but stood apart. / The heavens, that their beauty not be lessened, / have cast them out, nor will deep Hell receive them / even the wicked cannot glory in them. (Mandelbaum 34-42) Dante and Virgil are face to face with the "sorry souls of those / who lived without disgrace and without praise." (Mandelbaum 35-36). Therefore, when these "non-believers" die they venture out here. Due to, their negligence to choose between right and wrong, good and evil, they are all damned to wander the wasps infected chambers for all time. Neither Heaven nor Hell wants them. They are at the mercy of the "Anti-Inferno". Obviously, Dante and Virgil have come across an un-imaginable place, but what lies ahead, is raging in blood and fire. When we first lay our eyes on Canto III we read it, scratch our head, and say, "what does that word mean? Who are they talking about?" When that moment of Figurative-Amnesia occurs, you have just stumbled upon personification, and diction. Dante's Inferno Canto III if loaded to the brim with both. As evidence, gaze upon the opening of Canto III: THROUGH ME THE WAY INTO THE SUFFERING CITY, / THROUGH ME INTO THE ETERNAL PAIN, / THROUGH ME THE WAY THAT RUNS AMONG THE LOST. / JUSTICE URGED ON MY HIGH ARTIFICER; / MY MAKER WAS DIVINE AUTHORITY, / THE HIGHEST WISDOM, AND THE PRIMAL LOVE. / BEFORE ME NOTHING BUT ETERNAL THINGS / WERE MADE, AND I ENDURE ETERNALLY. / ABANDON EVERY HOPE, WHO ENTER HERE.(Mandelbaum 1-9) This is what Dante and Virgil first see when they approach the gates of Hell. Also, this is a foreboding inscription that is placed in the entrance to give a warning to those who enter. HELL is not just a place, no; it is a living, breathing person who will bring pain and un-imaginable torture. With this message, we can see how powerful its meaning really is. For instance: eternal pain, divine authority, primal love, and eternal things; all have a strong adjective to strengthen its meaning. Meanwhile: justice urged, endure eternally, and abandon every hope; all have strong verbs. Which in essence, serves as a strong understatement to what we are experiencing and trying to grasp while these two individuals "surf" thru Hell. Furthermore, without the strong diction, we would not be able to transcend its meaning. What they are personifying in this "Hellish Statement" is Hell itself. As stated above, Hell is a suffering city, an eternal pain, a way that runs among the lost. Hell is not just a place anymore, it has become something else. In quintessence, the statement above is a warning that needs to be looked upon with fear, and read with agonizing-pain. With the use of personification you can turn this phrase into an emotional-rollercoaster. With the uses of great diction and personification there is extraordinary explanation. For the reasons above, without the stalwart diction and personified "Hell" we would not grasp the internal and external meaning of this vile place we refer to as "The Inferno". The Divine Comedy, Dante's Inferno Canto III is an exquisite exposition to the explanation of the first, but many layers of the Inferno. However, it is only describing what the boarder of hell has to offer to those unfortunate souls who have become non-believers. A place where god and bad reside to only endure the agonizing pain that is brought upon by, "horseflies and by wasps that circled them. / The insects streak their faces with their with their blood, / which, mingled with their tears, fell at their feet, / where it was gathered up by sickening worms." (Mandelbaum 66-69). In other words, Canto III of Dante's Inferno shows a delectable and well thought-out main idea that is well-supported by the personified "Hell" to which Dante and Virgil start their voyage.
The Divine Comedy, Dante's Inferno Canto IV captures readers and brings them face to face to the first "circle of Hell". Thus, we find ourselves in "Limbo" with "The Virtuous Pagans". So far, this is the best circle to be in. These virtuous souls are not to be tormented with because the only pain worthy of them is the pain of acknowledging the fact that there is no Hope. Canto IV is exactly that, a hopeless circle for those who were born without the Christian faith, or, they were not baptized in the name of the Almighty. Canto IV of Dante's Inferno provides a virtuous main idea which is well supported by the symbolism of Pagans who have permanently resided there. Canto IV of Dante's Inferno has a unique main idea. To begin with, Dante awoke from his "fainting-spell" to find himself across Acheron, and on the brink of Hell. Here, Dante and Virgil are in "Limbo" (Circle One of Hell) with "The Virtuous Pagans":They were born without the light of Christ's revelation, and, therefore, they cannot come into the light of God, but they are not tormented. Their only pain is that they have no hope.(49)These are the souls who were not born during the Christianity faith and/or were not baptized in the name of God. Therefore, they neither are to be tortured nor have humility. However, they are living in luxury compared to other circles of Hell. For instance:We reached the base of a great Citadel / circled by seven towering battlements / and by a sweet brook flowering around them all. / This we passed over as if it were firm ground. / Through seven gates I entered with those sages / and came into a green meadow blooming round.(106-111)This is describing a great fortress surrounded by a small, natural stream of fresh water. In addition, there is a meadow blooming around the inner-complex of the castle. Without a doubt, Dante and Vigil have come across the most "mellowed-out" circle of Hell, this will be their last one, and so, they proceed onward into the dark treacherous-caverns of the unknown.Symbolism, this is a specific idea or object to represent ideas, values, or ways of life. Canto IV is filled up to the brim with it. As evidence, in stanzas eighteen through twenty-one Virgil states:I was still new to this estate of tears / when a Mighty One descended here among us, / crowned with the sign of His victorious years. / He took from us the shade of our first parent, / of Abel, his pure son, of ancient Noah, / of Moses, the bringer of law, the obedient. / Father Abraham, David the King, / Israel with his father and his children, / Rachel, the holy vessel of His blessing, / and many more He chose for elevation / among the elect. And before these, you must know, / no human soul had ever won salvation.(52-63)The people in these stanzas symbolize those who were exempt from the "no-salvation" rule that God placed. Caused by, Jesus Christ who granted these souls amnesty, when he descended into Hell during between the time of his death and his resurrection. This is called "The Harrowing of Hell", when Jesus Christ ventured into Hell. Take Moses for example. He was a profit that was commanded by God to deliver the Hebrews from slavery. So he did. Moses guided the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt, through the Red Sea. They wandered in the desert for 40 years until they reached the Land of Israel. Even though, back then there was no Christianity, or baptizing, Moses still obeyed God. Notice how he was "commanded" to deliver the Hebrews from slavery. He was obedient, and he brought over the greatest laws known to man, "The Ten Commandments". He was given a task, he accepted it, and he got his "just rewards". He does not fit the rules of Limbo. In the same way, Noah was commanded by God to build an Ark to save a core stock of the world's animals from the Great Flood. Once again, "commanded", he was yet another exception to the rule. Unquestionably, these "Pagans" symbolize the Great Divide between having faith and rather than hoping for it. The Divine Comedy, Dante's Inferno Canto IV is an exquisite description of the first circle of Hell. Brought about by the insightful descriptions of those who were non-believers. Not because they chose to be, but, because there was not one. For the reasons above, Dante's Inferno Canto IV was a virtuous circle in Hell which portrayed a well thought-out main idea that was well-supported by symbolic Pagans who have come to terms with their permanent home. Their only home.
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