The Messengers Tell Job of His Misfortunes
1825
Medium
engraving on thin paper
Classification
Portfolio
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.1669
Art Historical Context
In William Blake's *The Messengers Tell Job of His Misfortunes* (1825), we witness a pivotal moment from the Book of Job in the Bible. The engraving captures the biblical patriarch Job, seated in despair as three messengers deliver devastating news of his lost wealth, children, and livestock. Created late in Blake's career, this work is plate 12 from his monumental series *Illustrations of the Book of Job*, a set of 22 engravings that explore profound themes of suffering, faith, and divine mystery—themes that resonated deeply with the Romantic artist's visionary worldview. Blake, a pioneering...
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...