Anyone may learn to know and love William Blake. Small steps include reading, asking questions, making comments about posts made here (or anywhere else for that matter). We are ordinary people interested in Blake and anxious to meet and converse with any others. Tip: The primary text for Blake is on line. The url is Contents.

Friday, September 4, 2009

JOB: BLAKE'S PICTURES

If you enjoy looking at pictures as I do, you can introduce yourself to Blake's understanding of Job by looking at the pictures he made. There are two series in the Blake Archive. First the plates for his book ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE BOOK OF JOB, which are black and white engravings. The central picture is surrounded by snippets of text from the biblical Job or elsewhere, and decorative images with symbolic meaning.
From one viewing you can get a flavor or the work, but study is required to learn more of what Blake wanted to convey of his vision.

Click on this link and page down to the illustrations and the text in this Boston College website.

Illustrations

In the Archive you will also find Blake's watercolors of the same scenes from Job which he produce for Thomas Butts. Absent are the symbolic borders, but present are the lovely colors. For aesthetic purposes these pictures are the most satisfying, but they convey less of Blake's understanding of Job.

Click on this link to get the Archive for Illustrations to the Book of Job, The Butts Set.

Butts Watercolors
Enjoy!

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