Job and His Daughters 1825

This image of Job and his Daughters is an engraving made by William Blake, who lived in London in the late 1700s and early 1800s. Blake was a trained engraver, and this particular medium served him well as a means to reproduce his art, but also because it allowed for an incredible level of detail. Engraving is an intaglio printmaking process that involves cutting lines into a metal plate, applying ink to the incisions, and transferring the image to paper using a press. Look closely, and you can see the intricate networks of lines that model the forms and create dramatic lighting. While Blake used this technique to illustrate stories from the bible, in his own time, the engraving trade was driven more by commercial interests. Blake’s attention to the minute details of this scene—the folds of fabric, the expressions of the figures—reflect his commitment to craft as a form of spiritual practice. He resisted the division between art and industry, infusing even his most commercial work with visionary intensity.