In Tate Britain
Prints and Drawings Room
View by appointment- Artist
- Samuel Palmer 1805–1881
- Medium
- Ink on card
- Dimensions
- Support: 152 x 184 mm
frame: 357 x 372 x 15 mm - Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Purchased 1922
- Reference
- N03698
Display caption
Palmer drew this about five years after he first met Blake. It shows the strong influence of Blake’s illustrations to Thornton’s Virgil, displayed nearby. There is a similar contrast of dark and light, though handled more broadly.
This drawing is also an evocation of the English pastoral vision, which complements Blake’s idea of England as a country where Jerusalem would one day have been ‘builded’. The peaceful walk to the church is flanked by wheat sheaves – a symbol of the Last Judgement, when the good are gathered into God’s heaven.
Gallery label, July 2008
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