A figure appears in the sky above a group of figures kneeling and crouching on the ground.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A robed figure with a waist-length beard floats horizontally in the air, and swirling lines around him indicate a rush of wind. Below him on the ground, a bearded bare-chested white haired man at left, kneels with his hands folded in front of him and a cloth around his waist. A woman kneels beside him, also with her hands folded, and they both gaze up at the flying figure. In front of them, three robed men kneel with their heads down as if buffeted by the wind.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.413
People
William Blake, British (London, England 1757 - 1827 London, England)
Title
Then the Lord Answered Job out of the Whirlwind (The Book of Job)
Other Titles
Alternate Title: The Lord Answering Job out of the Whirlwind
Series/Book Title: The Book of Job
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1821
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/297809

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Watercolor, black ink and graphite on cream laid paper
Dimensions
23.4 x 27.3 cm (9 3/16 x 10 3/4 in.)

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
1943.413
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. 551 (13), pl. 745
  • David Bindman, ed., William Blake's Illustrations to the Book of Job, The William Blake Trust (London, England, 1987), repr. ill. B on p. 3 of pl. 13 "Then the Lord answered Job out of the Whirlwind"
  • Christopher Douglas, If God Meant to Interfere: American Literature and the Rise of the Christian Right, Cornell University Press (Ithaca, 2016), repr., cover jacket

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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