Dimensions: support: 373 x 527 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: Here we have William Blake's "The Laborious Passage along the Rocks," a watercolor piece. It feels unfinished, almost dreamlike. What underlying themes do you observe? Curator: Blake was deeply interested in symbolic journeys. The arduous climb represents a spiritual trial, doesn’t it? Consider the figure at the summit – is it an angel, or perhaps the soul having attained enlightenment? Editor: The figure does seem to glow. The path does seems like a trial. Thank you for sharing. Curator: Think of the rocks themselves. Do they represent obstacles, or perhaps the very foundations upon which spiritual growth is built?
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-the-laborious-passage-along-the-rocks-n03360
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This is an illustration to the part of Dante's Divine Comedy dealing with the Inferno: Hell. The poet Virgil, seen standing just to the left of centre, is guiding Dante through Hell, which consists of successive circles, each containing different categories of sinners. Here Virgil is helping Dante climb up the massive boulders separating the pit of hypocrites from the pit of thieves. Gallery label, February 2004
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