114. Moses placed in the Ark of Bulrushes. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera." Excellently invented. The mother swoons into her husband's arms; the sister is on the watch, to give warning of any interruption. The Pyramids are prominent in the landscape. 116. "The Compassion of Pharaoh's Daughter: the Finding of Moses. [Capt. Butts.] An exceedingly beautiful design, fully rivalling the grace and tenderness of Flaxman. The princess is a most delicious figure: she is attended by two young girls and two lovely women. Along with the funny little Moses are his mother and sister. In the right-hand corner a pelican (not in the least like one) is feeding her young. Pale in colour. * Moses at the Burning Bush. [Mr. Bohn, from Mr. Butts.] High, but not good, in colour. The treatment is interesting. The burning bush presents a small, spiral, dark flame. Moses gazes upon it, much as might any spectator of a curious phenomenon not especially concerning himself. 117. Moses indignant at the Golden Calf. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. The figure of Moses occupies more than half the whole space; other figures are given in the lower left-hand corner. A fine specimen. 118. Moses erecting the Brazen Serpent. [Mr. Strange, from Mr. Butts.] High in colour-red, blue, and yellow,-especially in the serpents and in the sky. Great in energy and in the conception of the serpents, which flare up into the air, loaded with their burden of human agony. A serpent is twined lax around Moses, dying out before the saving brazen image, and its colours fading into slaty extinction: the brazen one is as horrent and living in aspect as any of the others. The only figures not tormented by the serpents are two maidens, one of whom is in an action of thanksgiving. For this figure Blake probably had in his mind the promise, It shall bruise thy head,' the head of a dead serpent coming just at her feet. Whiffs of flame flit across the sky. A wonderful piece of invention throughout. 119. The Stoning of Achan. [Mr. Dilke.] The face of the stoned man, an athletic figure perfectly naked, is turned aside and backwards. The subject might be the Stoning of the Blasphemer' (Leviticus xxiv. 23), or even of Stephen; but the figure seems less adapted for the latter and a peculiar detail-a lurid wreath of smoke above his head, mingled with fire-would indicate the burning with fire' of all that belonged to Achan. The wrathful bearded Jews stand over him on both sides, six simultaneous arms raised with their weight of stone. Very vigorous in design and contour, tending towards the style of Fuseli. 120. Job confessing his Presumption to God. [Capt. Butts.] An exceedingly grand design, not at all corresponding with any of the Job engravings. The Deity, enwreathed by a very vivid prismatic glory, is the only part of the subject which falls short. From around Him, angels whirl earthward, drinking the air of their own speed.' Job kneels in front, his head raised. The three friends and Elihu are all bowed arch-wise prostrate to the ground, Elihu especially having a very beautiful and awful look. 121. Jephthah met by his Daughter. [Capt. Butts.] Companion to No. 44. Fine and impulsive, though indifferently executed. The daughter, a lovely girl, not yet of full womanly stature, holds up her arms to welcome Jephthah, who stands dumb-foundered, his clenched fists meeting as he clutches his robe to rend it. Two girls of her own age, with flutes, and a woman with a tambourine, accompany the daughter. 122. Samson pulling down the Temple. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. Samson occupies almost the entire composition. The only other figure is a boy crouched in the corner, horror-struck at his impending fate: an excellent figure this. 123. *Goliath cursing David. [Mr. Strange, from Mr. Butts.] Watercolour, with slight pen outline. Treated with naïve grotesqueness, and not a good specimen in point of execution, but there is great merit in the calm presence which David maintains as he faces the blustering giant and scans him over. Other armed Israelites are present: Goliath's armour-bearer holds his vast shield, emblazoned with a huge effigy of Dagon. *The Ghost of Samuel appearing to Saul. [Mr. Bohn, from Mr. Butts.] Very effective in design. The Witch of Endor is wonderfully fine. Terrified at the success of her own incantation, she brandishes her gaunt arms as she sits, and her bristling hair bursts into sudden flame. Samuel, very massive in form, and without the mantle over the head, points to the earth, out of which he has been "disquieted." Saul, a beardless man, not looking older than thirty or so, is in the style of Fuseli. The heads of his two attendants appear behind. 125. Bathsheba at the Bath seen by David. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. 126. The Bathsheba and the two young girls who immediately attend her are lovely figures; another attendant, a grown woman, is seated on the edge of the tank. David is in the right-hand distance, a very small figure. A beautiful treatment of the subject, full in colour. 'And Joab brought Absalom to the king, and the king kissed Absalom.' [Capt. Butts.] Too glaring in colour, and conventionally heroic in character; yet the Absalom is a glowing image of youthful and princely beauty. 127. The Plague stayed at the Threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. A gigantic ancient man represents the Plague; the sky (as very generally in the tempera-pictures) has as much red as blue in it. Remarkably fine. 128. The Judgment of Solomon. [Capt. Butts.] Oil picture (?) on copper. 129. Interesting. Blake surpasses almost all other painters in genuine expression of the subject, by representing the sword-bearing soldier as in no sort of hurry to execute the tentative command of cutting the baby in two. *The Man of God and Jeroboam. [Mr. Bohn, from Mr. Butts.] Has in it the makings of a very fine work, if carried further. Jeroboam's arm has just withered; the golden calf and the altar with a blue-burning flame are picturesque. 130. Susannah and the Elders. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. Fine. 131. Esther in the presence of Ahasuerus. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. Miserably damaged, but has been a picture of very considerable beauty; especially the Esther and her two attendants. Ahasuerus has a glory round his head and a Christ-like type of face; the whole subject, probably, being treated with a symbolic bearing the Saviour receiving Human Nature into grace. 132. The Angel appearing to Zacharias. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. Rich in colour and accessories, such as the altar-candlestick. The surface is considerably decayed. 133. The Nativity. [Mr. Strange, from Mr. Butts.] Oil picture (?) on copper. A most singular treatment of the subject. Mary, swooning in the miraculous childbirth, is sustained by Joseph, while the Divine Infant bounds into the air. Elizabeth holds out her arms to receive Him; the small Baptist, on her knees, joins his hands in prayer. Two oxen are at the manger; the star of the nativity sheds a flood of light. Mary is the most satisfactory figure of the group. 134. 'Simeon was not to see death before he had seen the Christ.' [Mr. Bohn, from Mr. Butts.] So marked. The subject is the ordinary one of Simeon prophesying over the Infant Christ; there are several bystanders besides Mary, Joseph, and Anna. Washy but tolerably complete in colour; a moderate specimen. 135. The Flight into Egypt. [Mr. Strange, from Mr. Butts.] Tempera. An angel accompanies Joseph, and two others follow the Virgin and Child, while the air around them is peopled with cherubs. Pretty enough, but almost ruined by the cracking of the surface. 136. The Repose in Egypt. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. The Holy Family are within a tent; an angel at its entrance; the donkey outside. Very dark by decay of the surface, and otherwise injured. 137. Christ with the Doctors in the Temple. [Capt. Butts.] Oil picture (?) on copper. Has much expression of the subject; the youthful Christ exalted in the centre, the doctors rapt in wonder and meditation. 138. The Baptism of Christ. [Mr. Strange, from Mr. Butts.] Tempera. One of Blake's most beautiful landscape-backgrounds. The water, where Christ and the Baptist stand, scarcely bathes their feet, but it recedes into deep broad ripples, beyond which are a wooded beach, mountains, and a blue redstreaked sky. There are several accessory figures, bringing children to be immersed and so on, with a glory of angels in the heavens. 139. The same. [Mr. Strange, from Mr. Butts.] A water-colour high in tint, but not completed, allied to the preceding: a work of imperfect character, but with fine indications. The ripple of the water is peculiarly liquid; the Baptist tends too much to the manner of Westall. 140. *The Transfiguration. [Mr. Dilke, from Mr. Butts.] The floating figure of Christ is in the centre: Moses to His right, with clasped hands, and not distinguished by the usual horns of light: Elijah to His left, with joined hands raised, and encircled with flames round the body; his hair and beard ruddy. Behind each saint is an aged bearded angel, winged, and suffused in yellow light, giving great individuality to the conception of the subject. The three Apostles are in the foreground; John with his head buried in his hands, the other two gazing upwards. Fine. 141. The Pool of Bethesda. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. The cripple is obeying the injunction to take up his bed and walk;' a good figure. Low in colour, approaching to monochrome. 142. Christ blessing the little Children. [From Mr. Butts.] Tempera. Fine; the surface cracked. 143. The Raising of Jairus's Daughter. [Capt. Butts.] Tempera. 144. The figure of Jesus is exaggerated, especially in the action of command of the extended left arm. Otherwise very fine in the expression of the figures. 'But Martha was cumbered about much serving.' [Mr. Dilke, from Mr. Butts.] Washy in colour, and, in the details of the table, plates, &c. primitive. The Martha and Mary are pleasing figures; the latter in a posture of recueillement upon a couch or ottoman, looking outwards (not up to the Saviour), as more expressive of rapt meditation. Three other guests are seated at the opposite side of the table. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. *The Raising of Lazarus. [Mr. Milnes, from Mr. Butts.] Grand in emotion and point of view. Christ out of a grave dug in the earth. two men on each side of the Saviour. Lazarus floats up at the word of Besides Mary and Martha, there are *Her sins are forgiven, for she loved much.' [Mr. Bohn.] Only laid in in colour : *The Woman taken in Adultery. [Mr. Strange, from Mr. Butts.] Christ bends to the ground in the act of writing: the woman stands with a subdued expression, very naturally given. The Jews are trooping out, all their backs turned. Pale in colour, and not of the highest style of execution. Christ raising the Son of the Widow of Nain. [Capt. Butts.] The young man has almost a feminine aspect. The widow, following the bier, raises her arms: she can scarcely believe her happiness. Somewhat mannered, and without special prominence in any one figure, though the widow is well conceived. The Woman touching Christ's Garment. [Mr. Smith (Southwick A composition of many figures, disfigured by lankiness. Not a superior 150. Christ giving Sight to the Blind Man. [Mr. Strange, from Mr. Butts.] Tempera. 151. The figure of Christ is fine. The blind man is young, with something of the character of Fuseli's treatment. Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. [Mr. Stirling, from Mr. Butts.] Oil picture on copper. The upraised hand of Christ appears to indicate not so much blessing or exhortation as a compassionate estimate of the transient enthusiasm which His entry excites. Mary follows among His disciples, her head surrounded with rays: the welcomers are chiefly children, of the mannikin type frequent with Blake. The red sun is setting. The architectural distance seems to aim at a sort of compromise between the typical forms of the Egyptian pyramid and the Gothic steeple, resulting in an unfortunate approach to the Langham Church steeple. 152. 'And, when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the Mount of Olives.'-Mark xiv. 26. [Capt. Butts.] 153. The general treatment recalls the final thanksgiving design of the Job series. A fair specimen, pale in colour. Christ in the Garden, sustained by an Angel. [Capt. Butts.] Oil picture (?) on copper. * Fine in feeling of the superhuman subject and the dark mournful night. 154. Judas betrays Him.' 155. The King of the Jews.' [Mrs. de Putron, from Mr. Butts.] [Mr. Bohn, from Mr. Butts.] A curious and interesting treatment of the Crucifixion, strictly symmetrical. The cross occupies the centre of the composition. At each end of its arms is a man, of a low Jewish type, but quite different in the two, about to nail down the Saviour's hand; while a priest is directly over His head, going to attach the inscription: 'I. N. R. I. Below, at the sides of the cross, are two corresponding groups of bowed Apostles and women. 156. The Crucifixion. [Mr. Dilke, from Mr. Butts.] Christ, the two thieves, and the mocking Jews, form the composition. The Saviour, His head radiating a yellow light, beams down upon the penitent thief, a comely young man, at whom the older impenitent thief glares, as though to shame him back into callousness; the Jews point upwards tauntingly: all powerfully expressed. A fine work, not carried to executive completion. 157. 'Christ taking leave of His mother.' [Capt. Butts.] The crucified Saviour has almost a ghostly look against a very dark sky. Many figures are present; all, except the Virgin and St. John, bowed with hidden faces. The feeling of grief is strongly expressed, and the composition of a high class. 158. The Body of Christ borne to the Tomb. [Mr. Palgrave, from Mr. Butts.] Tempera. An interesting little picture. The body of Christ, with composed, finely chiselled features, is borne on a flat bier by four apostles, the foremost being no doubt John. Nicodemus, a venerable bearded man, walks midway by the bier, bearing the vase of spices; the Virgin and the two Maries follow. The glimpses of the architecture of Jerusalem have a Gothic character (as introduced by Blake even into the Job series); the three crosses appear in the distance, under a blue sky streaked with yellow. The whole expression of the subject is serene and sustained, rather than mournful. 159. The Entombment. [Mr. Stirling.] Tempera. The Saviour, wrapped in a winding-sheet, is laid on the bier. Joseph of Arimathea, the Virgin, and other figures, are grouped around Him, under an oval, as if in the sepulchre. A composition of seventeen figures. 160. The same. [Capt. Butts.] One of the greatest and most beautiful designs left by Blake: funereal, awful, religious, tender. The figures are mostly in mourning black. John, standing midway on the steps under the arched entrance of the tomb, holds a torch, and hides his weeping face in a fold of his mantle. The Virgin Mother, to his left, is perfect in beauty and the abysmal calm of anguish; the Magdalen is on the other side. The figure of Christ is singularly corpselike and pure; Joseph of Arimathea is at His feet. The composition includes nine other figures. There is great harmony of spirit between the treatment of this subject and that of the angel rolling away the stone, No. 163. 161. The Sealing of the Stone of Christ's Sepulchre, and setting of the Watch. [Capt. Butts.] Highly interesting (perhaps unique ?) in the particular point of subject chosen, and in other respects an excellent example. A mason is mounted on a ladder, using the trowel and mortar. The head of one Pharisee is extraordinarily fine in its expression of alarmed and vigilant policy. Besides these two figures, there are two other Pharisees and five soldiers. 162. The Resurrection. [From Mr. Butts.] 163. *The Angel rolling the Stone from the Sepulchre of Christ. [Mr. Strange, from Mr. Butts.] Most spiritual, and with a great impression of silence: noble in light, and the chief angel, seen from the back, with brownish wings, a magnificent figure. Two other angels, who are lifting up the grave-clothes, are also very fine: the Saviour is awaking into life. The light of the picture emanates from Him; the whole subject standing out upon a dark background of the stone and sepulchre. |