alb3677084

WILLIAM BLAKE. PITY

Pity. Artist: William Blake (British, London 1757-1827 London). Dimensions: sheet: 16 5/8 x 20 3/4in. (42.2 x 52.7cm). Subject: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564-1616 Stratford-upon-Avon). Date: ca. 1795.
Blake was inspired by lines from Macbeth (act 1, scene 7), in which the title character imagines the aftermath of his intended murder of Duncan, the king:
"And pity, like a naked new-born babe,?Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubin, hors'd ?Upon the sightless couriers of the air, ?Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye"
Shakespeare's similes are embodied here to form a dynamic interplay: a tiny baby springs from his mother towards an angel astride a blind steed. The artist inventively mixed relief etching with colors printed from millboard to produce the image, and then used ink and watercolor to define details. Blake called prints like this one "frescoes" and considered them part of a narrative sequence.

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Author:

WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827)

Title:

PITY

Caption:

Pity. Artist: William Blake (British, London 1757-1827 London). Dimensions: sheet: 16 5/8 x 20 3/4in. (42.2 x 52.7cm). Subject: William Shakespeare (British, Stratford-upon-Avon 1564-1616 Stratford-upon-Avon). Date: ca. 1795. Blake was inspired by lines from Macbeth (act 1, scene 7), in which the title character imagines the aftermath of his intended murder of Duncan, the king: "And pity, like a naked new-born babe,?Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubin, hors'd ?Upon the sightless couriers of the air, ?Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye" Shakespeare's similes are embodied here to form a dynamic interplay: a tiny baby springs from his mother towards an angel astride a blind steed. The artist inventively mixed relief etching with colors printed from millboard to produce the image, and then used ink and watercolor to define details. Blake called prints like this one "frescoes" and considered them part of a narrative sequence.

Technique/material:

Relief etching, printed in color and finished with pen and ink and watercolor

Museum:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Credit:

Album / Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Releases:

Model: No - Property: No
Rights questions?

Image size:

4049 x 3238 px | 37.5 MB

Print size:

34.3 x 27.4 cm | 13.5 x 10.8 in (300 dpi)

Keywords:

DRAWINGS AND PRINTS • ETCHING • EUROPE • INK • METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, USA • PRINTS • RELIEF ETCHING, PRINTED IN COLOR AND FINISHED WITH PEN AND INK AND WATERCOLOR • UNITED KINGDOM • WATERCOLORS • WILLIAM BLAKE