Venus - Charles Martel 

Gustave Doré created this engraving, titled "Venus - Charles Martel," in 19th-century France, likely as an illustration for Dante's *Divine Comedy.* The image presents a vision of Charles Martel, a Frankish statesman, ascending to heaven, bathed in divine light, as two female figures look on. Doré’s illustrations of classic texts invite us to consider how the cultural values of his time shaped the way earlier stories were understood. In this image, Doré uses visual cues such as halos and heavenly light to express religious and moral concepts. We can see that Doré draws on a shared visual vocabulary that intertwines classical and Christian motifs, reflecting the 19th-century's fascination with historical narratives and its complex relationship with religious faith. Art historians consult literary sources, period documents, and criticism, to better understand the cultural values informing the artist’s vision, and how such imagery might have resonated with contemporary audiences.