Artist:
William Blake
Media:
Black ink and watercolor over traces of graphite and incised lines
Dates:
c. 1803-1805
Dimensions:
Image: 17 3/16 x 13 11/16 in. sheet (with inlay): 21 11/16 x 17 1/16 in.
“In this narrative the Dragon, identified with Satan, schemes to seize the soon-to-be born Redeemer from his mother. Derived from the Virgin Mary of the Gospels, the figure known as the Woman Clothed with the Sun also stands for Israel and for the Church. Blake's threatening Dragon displays powerful musculature as well as its monstrous tail, wings, and horned heads. Subsequent scenes reveal the failure of the Dragon's plan but the emergence of new threats to mankind.” Brooklyn Museum
William
Blake was born November 28th 1757. He attended Par’s Drawing School in the
strand when he was eleven years old and later taken as an apprentice by James Basire,
engraver to the Royal Society of Antiquaries. Most of Blake’s endeavors through
life failed, in 1809 his works were put on display in an exhibition at the
Royal Academy but nobody showed any interest. He died in 1827. Now he is
considered a seminal history figure of both the poetry and visual arts of the
Romantic Age.
This work has the red dragon which is a
representation of Satan rising as the beast to take over the world. Relating
the red dragon to Satan places this painting within my theme of hell, the
underworld and its demons. I also chose this work because it resembles power
within man, and although this power is evil it shows that anger and hatred can
be a powerful force. The ambiguity of the beast’s face gives the idea that the
beast can be anyone and not any particular person, raising suspicion about our
surroundings and what we think we
know.
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