COLLECTION NAME:
Rylands Collection
Record
Image Number:
JRL1215633
Reference Number:
R44332
Link to Catalogue:
Image Title:
Satan Before the Throne of God
Parent Work Title:
Illustrations of the Book of Job
Creator:
Blake, William, 1757-1827
Creator Role:
Illustrator
Date Created:
1825
Publication Details:
London: Published by William Blake
Page/Sheet:
Plate 2
Image Sequence Number:
002
Description:
Single line engraving in black ink. This scene is a vision recognisably similar to the preceding plate. Job again is placed within the cluster of his family in a tableaux-like arrangement spanning the lower half of the plate, but their intimacy appears fractured and artificial. The figure of Job is estranged and vacant as above him the tree that previously sheltered and nurtured his family morphs into a seething mass of demonic forms Job's state might indicate awareness of this prophetic scene enacted in the firmament. The pinnacle of this disconcerting, smoking canopy is the haloed figure of God, represented in Job's own image, perched atop his heavenly throne with the scripture open on his lap. This mirrored apparition is testament to Job's superficial understanding of the value of religious faith and the reason for all evident discomfort. The title suggests the figure placed immediately between God and Job is Satan, an idealised male supported entirely by the flames of Hell. His contorted body stretches over Job's realm of plenitude and acts as an oppressive force. This notion of oppression and entrapment is also reinforced by the margin design which echoes strong vines that sprout from a fenced landscape and form an impenetrable lattice stretching up to the heavens.
Language Code:
eng-GB
Language Code:
heb
Subject:
Bible. Job
Subject:
Bible. Old Testament. Job- Illustrations
Subject:
Bible. Old Testament
Category of Material:
Printed
Sub-Category:
Illustrated works
Technique Used:
Engraving (printing process)
Medium:
Ink
Support:
Paper
Item Height:
208 mm
Item Width:
162 mm
Current Repository:
The University of Manchester Library, U.K.
Rights Holder - Image:
The University of Manchester Library
Rights holder - Work:
The University of Manchester Library
Bibliographic Citation:
Blake, William, 'Illustrations of the Book of Job' (London: published by William Blake, 1825)
Notes:
21 leaves of plates. The plate descriptions have been supplied by Simon Spier.
Date Captured (yyyy-mm-dd):
2012-03-20
Multi Page Number:
55
Image Creation Technique:
Digital capture by Heritage Imaging, The University of Manchester Library
Date Image Added (yyyy-mm):
2012-07
Metadata Language:
eng-GB
Satan Before the Throne of God
