1943.431: The Complaint of the Giant Nimrod (from Dante's "Divine Comedy"); verso: slight black chalk sketch for recto
DrawingsAt left, in front of a tall brick wall, a bearded giant man kneels on the ground, facing the viewer and holding a horn in his left hand. Two figures, ankle high to the giant, stand at lower left. Light washes of pale red color piles of rubble and brick buildings that are seen in the background, and a gray jagged stone archway curves in from left, over the giant’s head. On the reverse of this page is a quick, lightly sketched version of this image in pencil.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1943.431
- People
-
William Blake, British (London, England 1757 - 1827 London, England)
- Title
- The Complaint of the Giant Nimrod (from Dante's "Divine Comedy"); verso: slight black chalk sketch for recto
- 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/297947
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Watercolor, black ink, graphite, and black chalk on off-white antique laid paper; verso: black chalk
- Dimensions
- 52.9 × 37.2 cm (20 13/16 × 14 5/8 in.)
- Inscriptions and Marks
-
- inscription: ll: HELL Canto 31
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
- 1943.431
- Division
- European and American Art
- Contact
- am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
THIS WORK MAY NOT BE LENT BY THE TERMS OF ITS ACQUISITION TO THE HARVARD ART MUSEUMS.
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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 (61), pl. 1058
- David Bindman, William Blake: The Divine Comedy/Die göttliche Komödie/La divine comédie, Bibliothèque de l'Image (Paris, 2000), pl. 64 (color)
Exhibition History
- 32Q: 2220 18th-19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/24/2022 - 05/02/2022
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