Blake's Illustrations of
Dante's Comedy
Blake had a commission to make
some engravings, but his death in the year 1827 would cut short the
enterprise.
The Dante watercolours are among Blake's richest achievements
Blake's intent may itself be
obscured, because the project was never completed.
In the margin of Homer Bearing the Sword and
His Companions,
Blake notes, "Every thing in Dantes Comedia shews That for Tyrannical
Purposes he has made This World the Foundation of All & the Goddess
Nature & not the Holy Ghost." Blake seems to dissent from Dante's
admiration of the poetic works of the ancient Greeks.
Instead, Blake, shared
Dante's idea of materialism and the corruptive nature of power, and
clearly relished the opportunity to represent the atmosphere and
imagery of Dante's work pictorially.
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Even
as he seemed to be near death, Blake's central preoccupation was his
work on the illustrations to Dante's Comedy;
Thus he probably have spent the very last money, he possessed, on
a pencil to continue sketching.
Alberto Canducci