Job's Sons and Daughters Overwhelmed by Satan
1825
Medium
engraving on thick paper
Classification
Portfolio
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.1666
Art Historical Context
William Blake's *Job's Sons and Daughters Overwhelmed by Satan* (1825) is a powerful engraving from his monumental series *Illustrations of the Book of Job*, capturing a pivotal moment from the biblical narrative. In the Book of Job, Satan unleashes destruction on Job's family as a test of faith, with swirling winds toppling their house and figures tumbling in chaos. Created late in Blake's life, this work reflects the artist's lifelong fascination with themes of suffering, divine mystery, and human resilience, hallmarks of his visionary Romantic style. Rendered as an engraving on thick paper...
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...