A drawing of a nighttime seascape with a boat in the foreground and hills in the background.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A drawing of a seascape at night. Two figures stand on a piece of land in the foreground next to a large structure which is situated at the water’s edge. The structure is multi-tiered and gets smaller as it rises. A small boat with a white sail floats in the water to the figures left. Across the water a small patch of light glows at the foot of a group of large hills. Two moons shine out from a dark and cloudy sky above the hills.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.658
People
William Blake, British (London, England 1757 - 1827 London, England)
Title
Dante and Virgil on the Edge of the Stygian Pool (from Dante's "Divine Comedy")
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: Dante, "The Divine Comedy"
Alternate Title: Dante and Virgil About to Pass the Stygian Lake
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1824-1827
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/297552

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Gray wash, graphite, black ink, black chalk, and watercolor on off-white antique laid paper
Dimensions
37 × 52.3 cm (14 9/16 × 20 9/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: lc: HELL Canto 7

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Grenville Lindall Winthrop, New York, bequest; to Fogg Art Museum, 1943

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
Accession Year
1943
Object Number
1943.658
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Martin Birnbaum, Jacovleff and Other Artists, Paul A. Struck (New York, 1946), pl. 22
  • Martin Butlin, The Paintings and Drawings of William Blake, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT and London, England, 1981), no. 812 (17)
  • Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Folio Society (London, England, 1998), repr. in color facing p. 31
  • David Bindman, William Blake: The Divine Comedy/Die göttliche Komödie/La divine comédie, Bibliothèque de l'Image (Paris, 2000), pl. 17 (color)
  • Maria Teresa Caracciolo, Le Romantisme, Citadelles & Mazenod (Paris, 2013), repr. in color p. 26
  • Stephen Collis, The Middle, Talonbooks (Vancouver, 2024), p. xii, repr.

Related Objects

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu