Engraving and drypoint on Chine collé, 1827. 275x355 mm; 10 7/8x14 inches, full margins. Proof, before letters. From Illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy. A very good, early impression of this extremely scarce proof.
In 1824, Blake's (1757-1827) friend the artist John Linnell, commissioned him to make a series of illustrations based on Dante's Divine Comedy. Blake was then in his late sixties and infirm. A contemporary account informs us that he designed 100 watercolors of this subject "During a fortnight's illness in bed." The 102 designs he created were left at Blake's death in 1827 in various stages of completion, ranging from pencil sketches to highly finished watercolors. Most show an expressive freedom in the handling of color washes far greater than Blake's earlier watercolors. In 1826, Blake began to engrave large plates based on seven of the designs, proofs of which like the current engraving are extant. Bindman 650.
