Lear and Cordelia
probably c. 1806/1808
Medium
engraving
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.8978
Art Historical Context
In the National Gallery of Art's Rosenwald Collection, *Lear and Cordelia* is poignant engraving by Thomas Butts, Jr created around 1806–1808 after a design by the visionary artist William Blake. This print a dramatic moment from Shakespeare's tragedy *King Lear*, likely depicting the tender reconciliation or tragic demise of the humbled king and his loyal daughter Cordelia, evoking profound themes of forgiveness, regret, and mortality. Blake, a cornerstone of British Romanticism, was renowned for his mystical illustrations of literary classics, blending intricate line work with symbolic dept...