The Lord Answering Job out of the Whirlwind
1825
Medium
engraving on thick paper
Classification
Portfolio
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.1697
Art Historical Context
William Blake's *The Lord Answering Job out of the Whirlwind* (1825) is a powerful engraving from his final masterpiece, the *Illustrations of the Book of Job*, a series of 21 plates that distill the biblical narrative into visionary art. Created in the twilight of Blake's life (1757–1827), this work captures the climactic moment from Job 38, where God speaks from a tempestuous whirlwind, challenging Job's suffering with divine majesty. As a Romantic artist and mystic, Blake infused the scene with swirling energy, radiant figures, and symbolic depth, blending human anguish with transcendent re...
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...