A minotaur rearing up before two figures in a rocky landscape
recto Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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recto Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

At upper right a creature with a human torso and arms, and the body, legs, and head of a bull is rearing up on his hind legs over rocky terrain. Its front legs thrust forward in the air, as he holds his hands raised behind his head. Two figures at left stand at the edge of a cliff in front of the creature, one of whom gestures toward it with a raised hand. Between them a cloud of dark smoke can be seen, rising over a row of buildings in the distance.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.437
People
William Blake, British (London, England 1757 - 1827 London, England)
Title
The Minotaur (from Dante's "Divine Comedy"); verso: possible sketch for "The Devils Under the Bridge"
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/297950

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 12

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
1943.437
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 (22)
  • Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Folio Society (London, England, 1998), repr. in color facing p. 46
  • David Bindman, William Blake: The Divine Comedy/Die göttliche Komödie/La divine comédie, Bibliothèque de l'Image (Paris, 2000), pl. 23 (color)
  • Philippe Daverio, Il museo immaginato: il secolo lungo della modernità, Rizzoli (Milan, 2012), repr. in color p. 190; p. 195

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