1943.436: Demons Tormenting the Panders and Seducers in Malebolge (from Dante's "Divinen Comedy")
DrawingsAt lower center left, a figure lies prone on his back in profile on the ground as a monstrous creature with bat wings and reptilian legs sits on his chest. Just beyond this is a crumbling brick wall on which we see the words “Hell Canto 18”. Past the wall is a steep hill, up which a line of seven naked figures is fleeing. Flying in from the right, three bat-winged creatures, one holding a sword, are descending upon the figures. Past the hill is a pale red lake, and enormous stone arches that loom in the distance.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1943.436
- People
-
William Blake, British (London, England 1757 - 1827 London, England)
- Title
- Demons Tormenting the Panders and Seducers in Malebolge (from Dante's "Divinen 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/297949
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Watercolor, black ink, graphite, and black chalk on off-white antique laid paper
- Dimensions
- 37 x 52.3 cm (14 9/16 x 20 9/16 in.)
- Inscriptions and Marks
-
- inscription: lc: HELL Canto 18
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
- 1943.436
- 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 (32)
- David Bindman, William Blake: The Divine Comedy/Die göttliche Komödie/La divine comédie, Bibliothèque de l'Image (Paris, 2000), pl. 34 (color)
Exhibition History
- 32Q: 2220 18th-19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 02/08/2018 - 05/09/2018
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