Artwork
Job's Despair
Job's Despair 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. Created in 1825, *Job’s Despair* is an engraving executed on India paper.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1825, *Job’s Despair* is an engraving executed on India paper. It belongs to the final phase of William Blake’s printmaking career, during which he produced a series of biblical illustrations. The work presents a dramatic, emotionally charged moment from the Old Testament narrative of Job, rendered in Blake’s distinctive graphic hand.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure is a bearded man, identified as Job, seated on the ground with his arms lifted in a gesture of anguish. Flanked by two mournful companions, the composition conveys the prophet’s profound suffering and the surrounding lamentation. The stark landscape, dominated by looming mountains and a storm‑filled sky, amplifies the sense of divine trial and human despair.
Technique & Style
Blake employs dense cross‑hatching to model forms and generate tonal depth, a hallmark of his later prints. The intricate network of lines creates subtle gradations of light and shadow, emphasizing the central figure while suggesting atmospheric turbulence in the background. The contrast between heavily inked areas and delicate washes enhances the emotional intensity of the scene.
History & Provenance
The engraving was produced in London, where Blake spent most of his professional life. It forms part of a late series of biblical plates that remained largely unpublished during his lifetime. After Blake’s death, the work entered private collections before being acquired by a museum specializing in Romantic-era prints, where it is now displayed as part of the artist’s graphic oeuvre.
Artist & collection
Artist
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter and printmaker.
