Descriptive Catalogue (1809)
The Descriptive Catalogue of 1809 is a description of, and
Having conceived the idea of portraying the characters in Chaucer's
The price of the Catalogue was 2s 6d (one eighth of a
The Preface to the Catalogue begins with a diatribe against "the Venetian"
Although now lost, The Ancient Britons was the most sensational of the works displayed and with dimensions of some 10 ft by 14 ft, was the largest work ever executed by Blake. The painting depicted the last battle of King Arthur against the Romans.
The exhibition was very poorly attended, with none of the temperas or watercolours sold and was described as "a dead failure". There was only one review, in
Between April and October 2009 many of the works displayed at the original exhibition were displayed together once more at Tate Britain.[2]
Works included
The Index to the Catalogue is as follows:
Image | Number | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
I | The Spiritual form of Nelson guiding Leviathan
c. 1805–9, Butlin #649 |
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II | The Spiritual form of Pitt guiding Behemoth
c. 1805, Butlin #651 |
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III | The Canterbury Pilgrims, from Chaucer
c. 1808, Butlin #653 |
Blake's painting, and the detail of the coloured engraving (Geoffrey Chaucer on his black horse) on the left | |
IV | The Bard, from Gray
c. 1809, Butlin #655 |
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Lost | V | The Ancient Britons
c. 1809, Butlin #657 |
|
VI | A Subject from Shakspeare [sic]
c. 1809, Butlin #658 |
Blake entitled the picture "A spirit vaulting from a cloud to turn and wind a fiery Pegasus"; Blake says that in his illustration "The Horse of Intellect is leaping from the cliffs of Memory: it is a barren Rock: it is also called the Barren Waste of Locke and Newton."
The First Part of Henry IV, Act IV, Scene i, where Sir Richard Vernon at the Battle of Shrewsbury comments on the sudden transformation of Prince Hal into a soldier who "vaulted with such ease into his seat / As if an angel dropp'd down from the clouds/ To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus/ And witch the world with noble horsemanship." Inscribed and dated: "W Blake 1809" Pen, ink and watercolor, size 308 × 192 mm British Museum, London. | |
Lost | VII | The Goats
c. 1809, Butlin #659 |
|
Lost | VIII | The Spiritual Protector
c. 1809, Butlin #660 |
|
IX | Satan calling up his Legions, from Milton
c. 1795-1800, Butlin #6611 |
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Lost | X | The Bramins [sic] - A Drawing
c. 1809, Butlin #663 |
a depiction of Charles Wilkins consulting Brahmins while making the first English translation of the Bhagavad Gita. |
XI | "Cain Fleeing from the Wrath of God" or "The Body of Abel found by Adam and Eve, Cain fleeing away" A Drawing c. 1805-1809 c. 1805-9, Butlin #664 |
Watercolor and black ink over graphite on cream wove paper 30.3 x 32.6 cm (11 15/16 x 12 13/16 in.)
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop | |
XII | Soldiers casting Lots for Christ's Garment - A Drawing
c. 1800, Butlin #495 |
[John 19:30–31] | |
XIII | Jacob's Ladder - A Drawing
c. 1805, Butlin #438 |
[Genesis 28:12] | |
XIV | Angels hovering over the Body of Jesus in the Sepulchre - A Drawing
c. 1805, Butlin #500 |
[John 20:12] | |
XV | Ruth - A Drawing
c. 1803, Butlin #456 |
[Ruth 1:16]
Ruth the Dutiful Daughter-in-law, 1803, Southampton Art Gallery | |
XVI | The Penance of Jane Shore - A Drawing
c. 1793, Butlin #69 |
References
Sources
- ed. ISBN 0-19-281050-2. Based on material originally published by the Nonesuch Press, 1948 and 1957, and subsequently transferred to OUP.