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A group of grotesque figures crowded in a frozen lake as two men look on

In a barren icy landscape, at center in the foreground, we see a group of trapped figures standing shoulder deep in a small frozen lake. At left is a Roman soldier, his hand on a sword that lies on the shore in front of him. Just behind him we see the face of a man wearing a crown looking at the viewer. To his right, a hooded figure stares forward with tears on his cheeks. To his right, a naked demonic creature sits with his back to us on the edge, looking over his shoulder toward two robed men who stand on the shore at left, looking on.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.429
People
William Blake, British (London, England 1757 - 1827 London, England)
Title
The Circle of Traitors: Alberti Brothers (from Dante's "Divine Comedy")
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: Dante, "The Divine Comedy"
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1824-1827
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/297759

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Watercolor, black ink, graphite, and black chalk on off-white antique laid paper
Dimensions
37.1 × 52.3 cm (14 5/8 × 20 9/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: lr: HELL Canto 32

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
1943.429
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Agnes Mongan, "The Fogg Art Museum's Collection of Drawings", Harvard Library Bulletin, Harvard University (Cambridge, 1958), vol. 3, no. 2, March, pp. 5-9, p. 202
  • Martin Butlin, The Paintings and Drawings of William Blake, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT and London, England, 1981), no. 812 (64)
  • Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Folio Society (London, England, 1998), repr. in color facing p. 126
  • David Bindman, William Blake: The Divine Comedy/Die göttliche Komödie/La divine comédie, Bibliothèque de l'Image (Paris, 2000), pl. 67 (color)

Exhibition History

  • Portrait, Prospect and Poetry: British Drawings from the Grenville L. Winthrop Bequest, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 09/11/1993 - 11/07/1993

Related Works

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