Illustrations of the Book of Job: Invented & Engraved by William Blake 1825 - Hardcover

Dell, Katharine; Viscomi, Joseph

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1915815320 ISBN 13: 9781915815323

Publisher: Royal Academy of Arts, 2026

Synopsis

• Handsome new 80-page edition reproducing all 22 of William Blake's engraved illustrations for the Book of Job
• Blake's printmaking masterpiece (1826), engraved entirely in pure line without preliminary etching
• Authoritative texts by Katharine Dell, Professor of Old Testament Literature and Theology at the University of Cambridge, and Joseph Viscomi, Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-editor of the Blake Archive
• Published to coincide with the exhibition of works by Richard Dadd, a near-contemporary of Blake, running 25th July – 25th October 2026 at the Royal Academy of Arts

William Blake’s engraved illustrations of the Book of Job are masterpieces of intaglio art. Dated 1825 in the plate and published the following year, they were based on his watercolours of the same subject from 1806 (Morgan Library, New York) and 1821 (Fogg Museum of Art, Harvard). Unlike the watercolours, the prints have complex marginal decorations that comment upon the biblical text. They are among the most inspired and sublime artistic achievements of this visionary artist and poet of the British Romantic period.

This handsome volume reproduces the Royal Academy’s copy of John Linnell’s 1874 printing, which comprised 100 copies on India paper laid on unmarked heavy paper. Katharine Dell, Professor of Old Testament Literature and Theology at the University of Cambridge, introduces the biblical text, and Joseph Viscomi, Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and co-editor of the Blake Archive, gives an account of the creation of Blake’s engravings. The 22 illustrations are reproduced at actual size from new photographs especially taken for this publication and are accompanied by a series of magnificent details of the prints.

Edition details

• Publisher: Royal Academy of Arts
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1915815320
• ISBN 13: 9781915815323
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 80