Artwork
Job and His Daughters
Job and His Daughters is an ink print by the Romanticist artist William Blake. It dates from 1825 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1825, *Job and His Daughters* is an engraving by the English poet‑artist William Blake. The print presents the biblical patriarch Job alongside his three daughters, arranged within a dark, undefined space that conveys a solemn atmosphere. The composition is rendered in Blake’s signature linear intricacy, emphasizing both narrative and symbolic content.
Subject & Meaning
The work draws on the Book of Job, focusing on the moment after Job’s restoration when his daughters are introduced. Blake’s portrayal highlights Job’s contemplative posture and the attentive presence of his daughters, suggesting themes of suffering, redemption, and the restorative power of familial bonds within a spiritual framework.
Technique & Style
Executed as a copperplate engraving, the image relies on dense, interlacing lines to model forms and create texture. Blake’s method combines precise contour work with areas of stippled shading, producing a chiaroscuro effect that deepens the somber mood. The style reflects his mature visual language, where intricate detail serves allegorical expression.
History & Provenance
The print belongs to the later stage of Blake’s career, a period when his personal mythology and religious preoccupations had fully coalesced. Produced in London, it was part of a series of biblical illustrations that Blake circulated among a limited audience, often hand‑colored by the artist himself for private collectors.
Context
*Job and His Daughters* emerges within the broader Romantic movement, which prized emotion, imagination, and the exploration of inner experience. Blake’s integration of biblical narrative with visionary symbolism aligns with Romantic ideals, positioning the work as both a devotional image and a meditation on human endurance.
Artist & collection
Artist
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter and printmaker.
