'Behemoth and Leviathan', William Blake

Artwork details

Artist

William Blake (1757‑1827)

Title

Behemoth and Leviathan

From Illustrations to 'The Book of Job'

Date 1825, reprinted 1874

MediumLine engraving on paper

Dimensionsimage: 200 x 151 mm

Collection

Tate

Acquisition Purchased with the assistance of a special grant from the National Gallery and donations from the Art Fund, Lord Duveen and others, and presented through the the Art Fund 1919

Reference

A00026

On loan to Nottingham Contemporary (Nottingham, UK)

Display caption

The Lord points down towards two beasts, Behemoth and Leviathan, and instructs Job about the extent and power of His creation. The right hand marginal text, from the Book of Job, describes Behemoth, who dominates the land, as 'the chief of the Ways of God.' Leviathan, a Sea Monster, is 'King over all the Children of Pride.' In his book 'Jerusalem' Blake has these two monsters representatives of war by land and by sea. This relationship is explicitly seen in Blake's two pictures showing Admiral Nelson and William Pitt included in this display. One interpretation of this design is that these beasts stand for the hopelessness of material nature… (read more)

September 1998