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Illustrated manuscript of Genesis : The fourth and fifth days of Creation
Illustrated manuscript of Genesis : The fourth and fifth days of Creation

Illustrated manuscript of Genesis : The fourth and fifth days of Creation

Maker (British, 1757 - 1827)
Additional Title(s)
  • Genesis manuscript [no. 4 of 11 leaves]
Collections
ClassificationsDRAWINGS
Dateca. 1826-1827
Mediumpencil, pen(?) and watercolor on wove paper
Dimensionsimage including text: 10 5/8 x 7 in. (27 x 17.8 cm.) vignette below verse 19: 3 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (8.9 x 16.5 cm.) vignette below verse 21: 2 3/4 x 6 5/8 in. (7 x 16.8 cm.) vignette below verse 24: 1 x 5 7/8 in. (2.6 x 14.9 cm.) sheet: 14 15/16 x 10 3/4 in. (37.9 x 27.3 cm.)
DescriptionText of Genesis 1:19-24. Verses 19 and 20 in green and red over pencil, remainder in green over pencil. The design below verse 19 includes three winged figures with extended arms standing on "the waters" (1:20). The man on the right faces forward, the central figure shows us his back, and we see the figure on the left from the side or in a three-quarter view. A convex arc behind the figures' knees probably represents the earth. Just above the horizon and between the figures are two circles, the "two great lights" (1:16) of the firmament. A few sketchy lines on the circle left of the central figure suggest crescent phases of the moon. There are four "stars" (1:16) in the sky, arranged in two pairs around the heads of the figures left and right. The man on the right, with a pointed chin or goatee and spiky hair, looks a good deal like Christ on leaf 1. Thus, the three figures may be the Trinity creating the earth, the firmament, and the waters. Their three positions relative to the viewer underscore the triune nature of their being and acts. The design between verses 21 and 22 shows two billowing waves with a bottlenose dolphin (illustrating "whales," 1:21?) sporting between them. Above are three winged figures, their heads and bodies close together in a recessional diagonal from left to right. The front-most head looks like Christ's on leaf 1, and thus once again Blake would seem to be picturing the Trinity. They soar above the waves like "the Spirit of God" who "moved upon the face of the waters" (1:2). Just above the water are a few pencil lines, perhaps clouds, on the left; and on the right, a very sketchy outline of a "winged fowl" (1:21). The decoration at the bottom of the leaf consists of three clusters of pencil squiggles. These may be the first thoughts for "the living creature…cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth" (1:24) of the verse immediately above.
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
Status
Not on view
Object number000.35
Terms