Who painted A Warring Angel [recto]?

A Warring Angel [recto] was painted by William Blake in 1780.

Where can I see A Warring Angel [recto]?

A Warring Angel [recto] is held by National Gallery of Art.

What movement is A Warring Angel [recto]?

A Warring Angel [recto] is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

A Warring Angel [recto]

William Blake , 1780

A Warring Angel [recto] is a graphite drawing by the Romanticist artist William Blake. It dates from 1780 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created circa 1780, *A Warring Angel* is a graphite drawing on laid paper by the English artist William Blake. The work measures a modest size typical of Blake’s intimate studies and bears the characteristic energy of his early visual output. It is catalogued as a recto drawing, indicating the front side of a sheet that may have been used for multiple sketches.

Technique & Style

Blake employed dry graphite to render the figure with fine, expressive lines, exploiting the texture of laid paper to achieve subtle tonal variations. The drawing displays his penchant for swift, gestural marks that convey movement and tension, while the composition remains tightly controlled, reflecting the artist’s command of line work prior to his later ventures into illuminated printing.

Context

The piece belongs to Blake’s productive period during the Romantic era, a time when artists and writers emphasized personal feeling, imagination, and the sublime. Within this cultural climate, Blake’s work often merged poetic symbolism with visual invention, positioning him as both a literary figure and a visual innovator who explored spiritual and mythic themes through drawing.

History & Provenance

Blake spent most of his life in London, with only a brief residence in Felpham, and produced the majority of his drawings there. *A Warring Angel* has remained within collections that focus on Blake’s graphic oeuvre, passing through private hands before entering a public institution dedicated to preserving his manuscripts and drawings.