Illustrations of the Book of Job - by William Blake - 1825 (March 1826)

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William Blake
Illustrations of the Book of Job - by William Blake - 1825 (March 1826)
1825

Name: Illustrations of the Book of Job - by William Blake - 1825 (March 1826)
Brand: William Blake
Rating: 4.9 (566 reviews)

$129,157.07List Price

About the Item

WILLIAM BLAKE. Illustrations of the Book of Job, in Twenty-One Plates, Invented and Engraved by William Blake. London. Published by the Author & Mr. J. Linnell. 1825. (March 1826). Folio. (445 x 360 mm). Engraved title and 21 engravings on laid India paper with the word 'PROOF' mounted to larger sheets (sheets for plates 2, 8, 13 and 14 watermarked: J WHATMAN / TURKEY MILL 1825), each with guardleaf. (Sheet size: c.430 x 330 mm). Original publisher's ochre boards, printed title label with uncorrected address pasted to upper board. [PROVENANCE: Sir Thomas Lawrence's copy - bought April 29th, 1826 directly from Blake [see below] - with his discreet blindstamp both to title label pasted to front board and title engraving; printed title label with Linnell's unaltered address (copies sold later have the address altered in manuscript) and manuscript note: 'Subscriber's copy / £5. 5. -'; tipped-in manuscript note to verso of title guardleaf (in Lawrence's hand?): 'It is recommended to turn over the plates / by laying hold of the interleaving paper / and not of the print.'; sold at Christie's, 10 May 1830, Lot 118]. Outstanding and top rare specimen, Sir Thomas Lawrence's personal copy - completely uncut in the original boards - of the first edition of Blake's last major series of engravings. Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769 - 1830), child prodigy, painter to the Society of the Dilettanti, well-connected society portraitist and President of the Royal Academy was a near contemporary of Blake but at rather a different social remove. Long a supporter of Blake's work - he was an original subscriber to 'The Grave' of 1807 and had defended Blake's illustrations for Thornton's Virgil in 1808 - Lawrence came to be something of a patron and financial crutch to the artist, buying two drawings ('The Wise and Foolish Virgins' and 'The Dream of Queen Katharine'), almost certainly the last to be executed or at least finished by Blake, for a large sum just before the artist's death and lending Blake money. Shortly after Lawrence's death in 1830, the painter William Etty (formerly apprenticeed to Lawrence) reported a tale of Lawrence's generosity to Blake to Lawrence's biographer Thomas Campbell: 'Mr Blake ... was a year or two ago in great pecuniary distress, which came to the knowledge of Sir Thomas, and he, Mr Blake, came to a friend's of mine ... one morning, with tears of joy and gratitude in his eyes - on being asked the cause, he told my friend that Sir Thomas had sent him a 100£ in bills ... which had relieved his distresses, and made him and his wife's heart leap for joy' (see G. E. Bentley, Blake Records, Second Edition, 2004, pg. 525). Lawrence also bought two sets of the 'Illustrations for the Book of Job' on April 29th, 1826: 'Sir Thos. Lawrence one copy of proofs for himself' and 'one copy given to the Royal Academy - but Sir T. L. sent 10 Gs. to Mr Blake', a footnote adds that 'Lawrence's India-paper proof of Job was sold posthumously at Christie's, 10 May 1830, Lot 118' (see Blake Records, pgs. 800 - 801). The engravings for the 'Illustrations for the Book of Job' were commissioned formally by John Linnell in an agreement of March 25, 1823. Despite a publication date of March 8, 1825 (the plates bear this date), they probably did not appear until early 1826 (the title label states 'March, 1826') and were sold sporadically by Linnell and his heirs (he died in 1882) over the course of the next century. Indeed, the family sold 68 sets of India proof copies at Christie's in 1918. Sets of the Illustrations for the Book of Job - the last complete series of engravings completed before Blake's death in 1827 - with a contemporary provenance are of the utmost rarity and sets sold during the artist's lifetime and within a month of publication, are in practical terms unknown. Always fascinated by the Book of Job, Blake's engravings were based on a series of watercolours executed between 1805 and 1806 for his patron Thomas Butts. The first edition was issued in 3 versions: 150 copies on laid India with the word 'Proof' as here, 65 copies on French paper with 'Proof', and 100 on Whatman paper with the word 'Proof' erased. 'It was produced while Blake was still working on Jerusalem, his most obscure book; yet the Illustrations are Blake's most lucid; and they are the Supreme example of his reading the Bible in its Spiritual Sense.' (S. Foster Damon, A Blake Dictionary, pg. 217). 'This [Illustrations for the Book of Job] was the last work he completed, upon the merits of which he received the highest congratulations from the following Royal Academicians: Sir Thomas Lawrence ... and many other artists of eminence.' (John Thomas Smith, Nollekens and His Times, 1828 reported in Blake Records, pg. 617). 'Are there any greater illustrations to be found? They are Blake's most ambitious, most unchallengeable, series. His inspiration was never richer, and his execution never more consistently maintained.' (Osbert Burdett, William Blake, 1926). Ref: Binyon 105 - 126; Bentley 421; Ray 313

Creator:
William Blake (1757, British)
Creation Year:
1825
Dimensions:
Height: 17.52 in (44.5 cm)Width: 14.18 in (36 cm)Depth: 0.4 in (1 cm)
Medium:
Engraving
Movement & Style:
Symbolist
Period:
1820-1829
Condition:
Due to the date/importance of the work, an export certificate will be required. It should take around 20 working days.
Gallery Location:
Roma, IT
Reference Number:
Seller: M-1171421stDibs: LU65038758122

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