A héliogravure of Blake’s 1826 engraving illustrating the biblical Book of Job.
Artist: William Blake. Born London, 1757. Died London, 1827
Title: And smote Job with sore Boils. Number 6 in the series.
Medium: Héliogravure on heavy wove paper.
Date: 1906. Original engraving, 1825.
Signature: In plate, bottom left: W Blake inv & sc. (invenit & sculpsit is Latin for “he created it and engraved it”.)
Edition: Size unknown
Content: The 22 engraved prints by Blake illustrating the Book of Job are considered to be his greatest masterpieces in the medium of engraving. They were also a rare critical and commercial success for him. Here an exultant Satan, set against a tumultuous sky, pours the poison onto Job, whose wife holds her head in fear and despair.
Notes: A héliogravure belongs to the same family of intaglio printing techniques as engraving, etching and aquatint. The complex process of producing a héliogravure, sometimes called a photogravure, involves coating a copper plate with a light sensitive ground and photographing the image onto the plate. The exposed plate is then etched and printed onto dampened paper using special inks. The resultant image has a rich palette of blacks and shades of grey. With its subtle tonality, the technique achieves a degree of fine detail that modern industrial printing methods - such as rotogravure, letterpress and offset - simply cannot match. This héliogravure from William Blake's Book of Job, was produced in 1906, using Blake's original 1825/6 proof engravings.
Condition: This plate is in excellent condition with a sharp image, embossed plate mark and full margins. It is unconditionally guaranteed to be as described. Presented in a museum quality mat, ready to frame.
Size: Paper size: approx. 315x250 mm. Plate size: approx. 215x165 mm. Presented in a museum quality mat, ready for framing. Please note that packing and postage is invoiced separately. Within Australia: $22.50. Overseas: ask for quote.
Item No: ART043
