A Glimpse into Hell, or Fear

Elihu Vedder, 1888–98

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Vedder drew this subject from Dante’s Inferno, the first part of the Divine Comedy. Five women crowd together at the gate of Hell, inside the arched shape of a lunette. Vedder shows almost nothing of Hell itself, only a thin edge of flame at the lower left. Their fear shows in their faces and in their swirling veils and hair.

Oil on canvas · 40 × 52.4 cm · Art Institute of Chicago

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Art Institute of Chicago: A Glimpse into Hell, or Fear

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Details and source

Museum title: A Glimpse into Hell, or Fear
Artist: Elihu Vedder (American, 1836–1923)
Date: 1888–98
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 40 × 52.4 cm (15 3/4 × 20 5/8 in.)
Credit line: George F. Harding Collection
Image license: CC0 1.0 · Public domain
Museum record: Art Institute of Chicago

Artist’s life 1836–1923

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Galler’s rooms and hanging scale are imagined. The image is the museum’s original digital reproduction.