“Jacob’s Ladder”
Today, one from the great William Blake…
“Jacob’s Ladder” is an ink and watercolor on paper painting by the English artist, William Blake, from circa 1799 to 1806. It is sometimes referred to as “Jacob’s Dream”.
The subject for this piece comes from the Book of Genesis, Chapter 28, verses 10-19, in the Bible. In these verses, Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven while on the run from his brother, Esau. Verse 12 reads “He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it”.
Blake painted Jacob lying on the foreground at the base of the stairs, asleep. The stairs spiral all the way up to the top of the painting where they approach what looks like the sun. On the stairs, women and angels can be seen ascending and descending, some carrying urns and one carrying a tray. Rays of light are emanating from the sun. Stars light up the blue background below the rays of light.
Blake created this illustration along with several others for his patron, Thomas Butts. He met Butts in 1799, the same year that this piece was commissioned. Butts was the main patron for Blake for many years. He regularly paid in advance to provide Blake with the time and means to create his works of art. He mostly requested Biblical themed art, but also requested illustrations from important literary works of the day, such as Milton’s Paradise Lost.
“Jacob’s Ladder” is currently in the collections of the British Museum in London, England.
For more on William Blake, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
