William Blake’s Illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Study of the Engravings, Pencil Sketches and Watercolors

William Blake’s series of engraved illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy were his last major project and a summation of his religious and artistic beliefs. Unfinished at his death, the series includes seven engravings and 102 unique works in various stages of completion - some of the most beautiful pictures of his career. These pictures are not simple illustrations. In fact the artist used them to reinterpret and correct Dante’s poem.

This book compares the two men’s theological and artistic views and analyzes in detail the meaning of these works, for the first time introducing their theological and aesthetic exuberance to a modern audience.