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Two robed figures look down at two kneeling figures beside a hill and a lake.

At center two men in robes stand next toe each other in profile. The figure at left in red, wears a pitying expression as he looks down at two men kneeling on the ground. At left one figure wearing red kneels in profile facing left. His bows and a wide brimmed hat falls off his head and blood is dripping from the back of his head. Behind him, a man with a long beard crouches over him facing us. His face is sorrowful as he gestures with both hands raised. Behind a small hill in the background a lake can be seen in the distance.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1943.441
People
William Blake, British (London, England 1757 - 1827 London, England)
Title
Ugolino's Narrative (from Dante's "Divine Comedy")
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Ugolino Relating his Death
Series/Book Title: Dante, "The Divine Comedy"
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1824-1827
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/297951

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Watercolor, black ink, graphite, and black chalk on off-white antique laid paper
Dimensions
37 × 52.3 cm (14 9/16 × 20 9/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: lr: HELL Canto 33

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
1943.441
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 (67)
  • Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Folio Society (London, England, 1998), repr. in color facing p. 131
  • David Bindman, William Blake: The Divine Comedy/Die göttliche Komödie/La divine comédie, Bibliothèque de l'Image (Paris, 2000), pl. 70 (color)

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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