Job's Despair
1825
Medium
engraving on thin paper
Classification
Portfolio
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.1683
Art Historical Context
William Blake's *Job's Despair* (1825), an engraving on thin paper, captures pivotal moment from the biblical Book of Job, where the righteous man grapples with profound suffering and loss. Part of Blake's monumental *Illustrations of the Book Job* series—his final major print project—this image is housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald CollectionDepartment CG-E, Portfolio classification). Blake, a visionary of the Romantic era (1757–1827), drew from his mystical interpretations of scripture to explore themes of faith, torment, and redemption, making this work a profound meditation ...
About the Artist
William Blake · 1757–1827
William Blake (1757–1827) stands as one of the most visionary and unconventional artists in British history, a poet-painter-printmaker whose mystical imagination and radical vision profoundly shaped the Romantic movement. Born in London's Soho district, Blake experienced visions from childhood—claiming to see angels in trees at age eight—and these spiritual encounters would guide his art throughou...