Satan Smiting Job with Boils
Original title: Satan Smiting Job with Boils
kurzbeschreibung
William Blake made this engraving in 1825–26. It captures the biblical moment when Satan afflicts Job with painful boils. The sheet belongs to Blake's series of illustrations to the Book of Job, celebrated for its dramatic visual language. The work is executed as line etching with drypoint on paper.
Description
Satan appears as a winged angelic figure hovering above a cloudlike backdrop. In one hand he holds a threadlike object, with which he covers the prostrate Job in boils. Job crouches exhausted and bent, his gaze lifted toward Satan. Stylized mountains and a suggested sky form the setting. A border of text quotes the biblical passage: "And smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown." Further inscriptions and the artist's monogram appear at the bottom.
Context
The etching was made in 1825–26 as part of a series of 22 illustrations to the Book of Job. Blake produced them on commission from the artist John Linnell. By this time Blake was over 60 and had long engaged intensively with biblical themes. In 1826 the series was published as a book; it is regarded as one of the major works of Blake's late period. The subject follows the biblical narrative in which Satan tests Job's faith.
Impact
A dark, dramatic mood arises from the high-contrast linework and Satan's monumental superiority over the suffering Job. The precise, energetic lines give the scene an almost sculptural presence. The embedded biblical text heightens the narrative and symbolic force of the print.
Technique
Blake used line etching: the drawing was incised into a copper plate and bitten with acid. The lines are strong and precise, with fine hatching serving shadow and detail. The etching is monochrome and was printed on laid paper. Blake often colored his own prints with watercolor, but here a pure black-and-white version is present.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)