← Blake, William

This is an engraved plate. The plate itself is dark red, and the lines on it are gray. At the bottom of the plate appears to be a river filled with people twisting and turning in the water. On the right, the river appears to float upward and loop around itself, ending in the top right corner. In the center is a stretch of ground that reaches to the left edge of the plate. On the ground, a person stands, looking down at another person that lays on the ground below them. Both people wear robes and appear to have long hair. Above the person who lays on the ground seems to be another large wave of water that carries two people upward inside it, a man and a woman with their arms outstretched towards each other. In the sky on the left is a large round sun-like shape near that emits rays of light. In the sun are the outlines of two intertwined people who appear to be kissing.

The Circle of the Lustful: Paolo and Francesca

Blake, William · British

1827

Medium
engraved copper plate
Classification
Technical Material
Period
1826 to 1850
Image size
9312 × 7324px

Description

This is an engraved plate. The plate itself is dark red, and the lines on it are gray. At the bottom of the plate appears to be a river filled with people twisting and turning in the water. On the right, the river appears to float upward and loop around itself, ending in the top right corner. In the center is a stretch of ground that reaches to the left edge of the plate. On the ground, a person stands, looking down at another person that lays on the ground below them. Both people wear robes and appear to have long hair. Above the person who lays on the ground seems to be another large wave of water that carries two people upward inside it, a man and a woman with their arms outstretched towards each other. In the sky on the left is a large round sun-like shape near that emits rays of light. In the sun are the outlines of two intertwined people who appear to be kissing.

Rights & Source

Open access image from the National Gallery of Art, released under its open access program. Metadata via the NGA Open Data Program (CC0).

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