Antaeus Setting Down Dante and Virgil in the Last Circle of Hell

William Blake was born on this day in 1757. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. Happy Birthday Willy!

William Blake’s illustrations to Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy have been described as the ‘glorious culmination’ of his art. Written in the early fourteenth century, this epic poem recounts Dante’s imaginary pilgrimage through Hell and Purgatory to Paradise. Commissioned by his last patron, John Linnell, Blake produced 102 drawings illustrating the Divine Comedy between 1824 and his death in 1827. These drawings range from preliminary sketches to highly finished watercolours. Only seven of the compositions were engraved for Linnell’s proposed publication. Blake’s personal theology led him not only to illustrate but to comment upon, and even criticize, Dante’s Catholic interpretation of salvation, stating that ‘Dante saw Devils where I see none—I see only good’.