Who painted The Book of Job: No. 8, Let the Day perish wherin I was born?

The Book of Job: No. 8, Let the Day perish wherin I was born was painted by William Blake in 1825.

Where can I see The Book of Job: No. 8, Let the Day perish wherin I was born?

The Book of Job: No. 8, Let the Day perish wherin I was born is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

What movement is The Book of Job: No. 8, Let the Day perish wherin I was born?

The Book of Job: No. 8, Let the Day perish wherin I was born is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

The Book of Job: No. 8, Let the Day perish wherin I was born

William Blake , 1825

The Book of Job: No. 8, Let the Day perish wherin I was born is a print by the Romanticist artist William Blake. It dates from 1825 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1825, this print is one of a series of twenty‑two engravings that William Blake produced toward the end of his life to illustrate passages from the biblical Book of Job. The work bears the subtitle “Let the Day perish wherin I was born,” referencing the lament of Job’s suffering. It exemplifies Blake’s late‑period focus on scriptural subjects rendered in his idiosyncratic visual style.

Subject & Meaning

The central figure is a bearded man seated on the ground, arms uplifted in a gesture of anguish or supplication. Flanking him are two women with bowed heads, their posture reinforcing the atmosphere of grief. The composition conveys a moment of profound despair, echoing Job’s existential questioning and the theme of divine trial.

Technique & Style

Blake employed his characteristic engraving method, using strong contrasts of light and dark to model forms—a chiaroscuro effect that deepens the scene’s emotional intensity. The dark, mountainous landscape and cloud‑filled sky recede behind the figures, while the illuminated bodies emerge from the gloom, highlighting the tension between hope and desolation.

History & Provenance

The print belongs to Blake’s final series of biblical illustrations, completed shortly before his death in 1827. It was produced in his London workshop and circulated among his limited circle of patrons and admirers. Copies have since entered major public collections, reflecting the work’s continued scholarly interest.

Context

Blake’s engagement with the Book of Job aligns with his broader Romantic preoccupation with suffering, redemption, and the imagination’s power to transcend material reality. By rendering the biblical narrative in stark, symbolic terms, he connects the ancient text to contemporary concerns about human resilience and spiritual inquiry.