The Destruction of Leviathan – Gustave Doré (1866)

The monster of the deep meets its end

From a torn sky, a shaft of light falls on a raging sea. Within it, a divine figure descends among the clouds, sword in hand, robes streaming in the wind. Below, an immense creature writhes in the waves: a scaly head with gaping jaws in the foreground, spiked fins, and far behind, the endless coils of a serpentine body rising from the water. Engraved in 1866 for Gustave Doré's illustrated Bible, The Destruction of Leviathan is one of the most spectacular monster scenes of the 19th century.

"And he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea"

Doré illustrates a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah (27:1): "In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." Also described at length in the Book of Job, Leviathan is the great primeval beast of the Bible, a symbol of chaos that only God can overcome. Doré stages the moment as a clash of light and darkness: the brilliant, almost weightless figure above, and the dense, black, muscular mass of the monster below.

From the Bible to Hobbes and Moby-Dick

Few creatures have left such a mark on culture. Leviathan gave its name to Thomas Hobbes' famous treatise on the state (1651), haunts the pages of Melville's Moby-Dick, and still lives on today in novels, films and video games. Doré's plate, published in La Grande Bible de Tours, did much to fix its image: half sea serpent, half dragon, of colossal size. It was cut by Héliodore Pisan, one of Doré's most gifted engravers, whose name appears in the lower right corner.

Why it works so well on a wall

Dramatic, dynamic and full of movement, this engraving has the energy of a fantasy film poster. Its deep blacks and bright bursts of foam make it a striking centrepiece for a study, a library, a home cinema or a dark, moody living room, and it looks just as powerful on a pale wall. A thin black frame gives it a sharp, modern look, while an aged gold or dark wood frame recalls the great 19th-century book it comes from.

• Artist: Gustave Doré (1832–1883)
• Engraver: Héliodore Pisan (1822–1890)
• Date: 1866
• Medium: Wood engraving
• Published in: La Grande Bible de Tours (the Doré Bible)
• Subject: Book of Isaiah 27:1, the destruction of Leviathan

Love Doré's sea monsters? Discover the giant whale of Alcina Carries Off Astolfo, or another plate from the Doré Bible, Death on the Pale Horse. Explore all his works in our Gustave Doré engraving prints collection.