Across Acheron

Final

Final

Close-up

Close-up

Original

Original

This digital artwork is inspired by and pays homage to the great Gustave Doré. Specifically I reproduced the "Plate X: Canto III: Charon herds the sinners onto his boat", an illustration out of 75 he produced in 1857 for 'The Divine Comedy' by Dante Alighieri.
Doré's style and work is phenomenal and he has become my greatest recent inspirations. His works on the Divine Comedy is full of emotion, and a gothic impression pervades every line drawn. I wanted to retrieve this one and reproduce it in a modern style, changing a few things such as Charon's size and the mountains in the background. I feel really proud about this one Nod
As the tale goes, Charon is the ferryman of the dead, taking the lost souls across the river Styx (or in this case Acheron); Dante mixes Greek and Biblical mythology in his work about the famous journey through the underworld, which is honestly really awesome and inspiring to me. A lot of my storytelling is also inspired by a blend of these two mythologies.

The title of this work is a tribute to the song 'Across Acheron' by Adrian von Ziegler - the gothic vibes he created have travelled with me across time - basically I've been listening to his music for many many years, and my art has also his music at its foundations, among many other things.

Date
June 18, 2023