A bearded figure on a throne surrounded by angels looks down as a three figures fall headlong into a fiery pit
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

At top center, a robed figure with a long beard is seated with a large open book in his lap. He raises one hand and looks at a group of falling naked figures below him. They are falling head first, a larger figure at center flanked by a smaller figure at each side, all three surrounded by a fireball and lightning. At lower left a kneeling man and woman look up at the scene, as do a group of three cowering men at lower right. Between these two groups, fire erupts from a crack in the ground, into which the naked figures are falling.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.425
People
William Blake, British (London, England 1757 - 1827 London, England)
Title
Thou Hast Fulfilled the Judgment of the Wicked (The Book of Job)
Other Titles
Alternate Title: The Fall of Satan
Series/Book Title: The Book of Job
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1821
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/297757

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Watercolor, black ink and graphite on cream laid paper
Dimensions
30.4 x 23 cm (11 15/16 x 9 1/16 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Grenville Lindall Winthrop, New York, bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.425
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Blake to Beardsley: A Century of English Illustrators, exh. cat., Fogg Art Museum (Cambridge, MA, 1944), no. 17
  • Agnes Mongan, "The Fogg Art Museum's Collection of Drawings", Harvard Library Bulletin, Harvard University (Cambridge, 1958), vol. 3, no. 2, March, pp. 5-9, p. 202
  • Martin Butlin, The Paintings and Drawings of William Blake, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT and London, England, 1981), no. 551 (16), pl. 748
  • David Bindman, ed., William Blake's Illustrations to the Book of Job, The William Blake Trust (London, England, 1987), repr. ill. B on p. 3 of pl. 16, "Thou has fulfilled the Judgment of the Wicked"

Exhibition History

  • Blake to Beardsley: A Century of English Illustrators, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 06/01/1944 - 06/30/1944
  • HAA 10 Survey Course (S421): The Western Tradition: Art Since the Renaissance (Fall 11 Rotation 1), Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, 09/06/2011 - 10/01/2011
  • 32Q: 2220 18th-19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 05/05/2016 - 09/13/2016

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu