Category:William Blake's illustrations to the Divine Comedy

The following is a record from the William Blake Archive: http://www.blakearchive.org/exist/blake/archive/work.xq?workid=bb448&java=no

Work Information

Title: Illustrations to Dante's "Divine Comedy" Origination: William Blake: inventor, delineator, colorist Composition Date: 1824-27 Number of Objects: 102 Object Order: 1-102 Object Size: each approximately 37.0 x 52.5 cm. (horizontal format) or 52.5 x 37.0 cm. (vertical format) Number of Leaves: 102 Leaf Size: each approximately 37.0 x 52.5 cm. (horizontal format) or 52.5 x 37.0 cm. (vertical format) Medium: pen and ink and water colors over pencil Note: Designs 30, 68, 71, 83, 91, and 100 are basically pencil drawings with, in some cases, pen and ink additions or very slight touches of color. Butlin numbers are used here unless otherwise noted. Support: laid paper Watermark: WELGAR 1796 or a fleur-de-lis with WE Note: Each leaf appears to be half of a sheet with the WELGAR watermark on one half and the fleur-de-lis countermark on the other half. The watermark or countermark cannot be seen on the water colors that are pasted down to a backing mat, but are very probably present. Penned Numbers: All but designs 14, 42, 54, 94, 95, 97, and 99-102 are inscribed with the number of the canto or cantos of Dante's poem illustrated by the design. Design 54 is inscribed "95." Note: The sheets bear inscriptions on their versos, including two sets of numbers that would appear to be attempts to indicate the proper sequence of the designs. None of these verso inscriptions are by Blake. Butlin numbers are used here unless otherwise noted. Frame Lines: none Binding: The designs may have been bound at one time, but are now disbound and dispersed. Stab Holes: none Provenance

Name: Ashmolean Museum (designs 86, 93, 97), Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery (designs 3, 10, 42, 65, 81, 92), British Museum (designs 21, 38, 45, 48, 50, 68, 72, 82, 87, 91, 96, 100, 101), Fogg Art Museum (designs 6, 7, 11, 17, 18, 22, 23, 26, 29, 30, 32, 33, 41, 43, 52, 54, 61, 64, 66, 67, 71, 77, 83), National Gallery of Victoria (designs 1, 5, 9, 13, 15, 16, 19, 20, 25, 27, 28, 31, 34, 36, 37, 39, 47, 49, 51, 55, 56, 57, 59, 62, 63, 69, 73, 75, 76, 84, 85, 89, 90, 94, 95, 99), Royal Institution of Cornwall (design 79), Tate Collection (designs 2, 4, 8, 12, 14, 24, 35, 40, 44, 46, 53, 58, 60, 70, 74, 78, 80, 88, 98, 102). Note: Butlin numbers are used here unless otherwise noted. Date: 1918 Dealer: Alec Martin of Christie's Price: £7665 Note: Acquired directly from Blake by John Linnell, who commissioned the designs; sold from Linnell's estate, Christie's, 15 March 1918, lot 148 (£7665 to Alec Martin acting for the National Art-Collections Fund, which divided the designs by prior arrangement amongst the seven institutions now owning the Dante water colors). Present Location

Ashmolean Museum Beaumont Square Beaumont Street Oxford OX1 2PH United Kingdom Telephone: 0186-527-8000 Fax: 0186-527-8018 Email address: publications@ashmus.ox.ac.uk URL: http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/ Department: Drawings and Prints Collection: Ashmolean Museum Accession Number: WA1918.3 (design 86), WA1918.5 (design 93), WA1918.4 (design 97). Butlin numbers are used here for the design designations.

Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery Chamberlain Square Birmingham, B3 3DH United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0)121-303-2834 Fax: +44 (0)121-303-1394 URL: http://www.bmag.org.uk/ Department: Drawings and Prints Collection: Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery Accession Number: 1.19 (design 3), 2.19 (design 10), 3.19 (design 42), 4.19 (design 65), 5.19 (design 81), 6.19 (design 92). Butlin numbers are used here for the design designations.

British Museum Great Russell Street London WC1B 3DG United Kingdom Telephone: 44-2076-361555 URL: http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/ Department: Drawings and Prints Collection: British Museum Accession Number: 1918.4.13.1 (design 21), 1918.10.12.8 (design 38), 1918.10.12.9 (design 45), 1918.4.13.2 (design 48), 1918.4.13.3 (design 50), 1918.10.12.10 (design 68), 1918.10.12.6 (design 72), 1918.4.13.4 (design 82), 1918.4.13.5 (design 87), 1918.10.12.11 (design 91), 1918.4.13.6 (design 96), 1918.10.12.12 (design 100), 1918.10.12.7 (design 101). Butlin numbers are used here for the design designations.

Fogg Art Museum Harvard University Art Museums 32 Quincy Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 United States Telephone: 617-495-9400 Fax: URL: http://www.artmuseums.harvard.edu/fogg/ Department: Drawings and Prints Collection: Fogg Art Museum Accession Number: 1943.445 (design 6), 1943.442 (design 7), 1943.440 (design 11), 1943.658 (design 17), 1943.439 (design 18), 1943.437 (design 22), 1943.444 (design 23), 1943.433 (design 26), 1943.447 (design 29), 1943.659 (design 30), 1943.436 (design 32), 1943.435 (design 33), 1943.446 (design 41), 1943.443 (design 43), 1943.432 (design 52), 1943.434 (design 54), 1943.431 (design 61), 1943.429 (design 64), 1943.430 (design 66), 1943.441 (design 67), 1943.660 (design 71), 1943.438 (design 77), 1943.661 (design 83). Butlin numbers are used here for the design designations.

National Gallery of Victoria P.O. Box 7259 Melbourne, VIC 8004 Telephone: +61 3-9208-0222 Fax: +61 3-9208-0245 URL: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/ Department: Drawings and Prints Collection: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Accession Number: 988.3 (design 1), 989.3 (design 5), 990.3 (design 9), 991.3 (design 13), 992.3 (design 15), 993.3 (design 16), 994.3 (design 19), 995.3 (design 20), 996.3 (design 25), 997.3 (design 27), 998.3 (design 28), 999.3 (design 31), 1000.3 (design 34), 1001.3 (design 36), 1002.3 (design 37), 1003.3 (design 39), 1004.3 (design 47), 1005.3 (design 49), 1006.3 (design 51), 1007.3 (design 55), 1008.3 (design 56), 1009.3 (design 57), 1010.3 (design 59), 1011.3 (design 62), 1012.3 (design 63), 1013.3 (design 69), 1014.3 (design 73), 1015.3 (design 75), 1016.3 (design 76), 1017.3 (design 84), 1018.3 (design 85), 1019.3 (design 89), 1020.3 (design 90), 1021.3 (design 94), 1022.3 (design 95), 1023.3 (design 99). Butlin numbers are used here for the design designations.

Royal Institution of Cornwall Royal Cornwall Museum Photographic Librarian Courtney Library & Cornish History Research Centre Photographic Collection River Street Truro TR1 2SJ Cornwall United Kingdom Telephone: 0187-227-2205 Fax: 0187-224-0514 Email address: photos@royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk URL: http://www.royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk Department: Drawings and Prints Collection: Royal Institution of Cornwall Accession Number: TRURI:1000.36 (design 79). The Butlin number is used here for the design designation.

Tate Collection Millbank London SW1P 4RG United Kingdom telephone: 020-7887-8000 fax: 020-7887-8900 email: robin.hamlyn@tate.org.uk URL: www.tate.org.uk Department: Drawings and Prints Collection: Tate Collection Accession Number: N03351 (design 2), N03352 (design 4), N03353 (design 8), N03354 (design 12), N03355 (design 14), N03356 (design 24), N03357 (design 35), N03358 (design 40), N03359 (design 44), N03360 (design 46), N03361 (design 53), N03362 (design 58), N03363 (design 60), N03365 (design 70), N03366 (design 74), N03367 (design 78), N03368 (design 80), N03369 (design 88), N03370 (design 98), N03364 (design 102). Butlin numbers are used here for the design designations.