Job and His Family
Original title: Job and His Family
kurzbeschreibung
William Blake produced the engraving 'Job and His Family' between 1825 and 1826, showing the biblical Job reading from a book surrounded by his relatives. The print belongs to his series of illustrations for the Book of Job and was executed as a copper engraving.
Description
A group in traditional garments has gathered around an older man who holds a book and appears to be teaching; some crouch, others stand in rows. Mountains and a cloudy sky close off the distance. A mighty tree dominates the center of the image, with clouds and a moon behind it. A border above the scene carries the words 'Our Father which art in Heaven' and 'hallowed be thy Name'.
Context
For the artist John Linnell, Blake created a total of 21 copper engravings for the Book of Job between 1825 and 1826. They were based on Blake's own watercolors; the engravings remained available only to a small circle of collectors. They count among the most significant works of his late period.
Impact
A solemn stillness pervades the print, sustained by the symmetrical arrangement of the figures and the tree as the central axis. Realistic traits combine with symbolic motifs such as the tree and moon, creating a spiritual mood of timeless effect.
Technique
In this copper engraving, the drawing was incised into the plate and then printed. Blake worked with fine, precisely placed lines and great richness of detail, so that figures and landscape stand out clearly from one another.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)