Pietà
about 1795
Watercolor and ink on paper (42x54 cm)
Tate Gallery, London
Watercolor and ink on paper (42x54 cm)
Tate Gallery, London
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A woman who apparently seems to have recently become muddy (given the color still present on the vaults and arms) lies lifeless on the ground; above her we can see two female figures on horseback and with the wind in their hair. One of the two women looks down and holds a newborn in her arms.
This work represents one of the most important scenes of the Shakespearean tragedy in which Macbeth meditates to assassinate Duncan: "Mercy, like a naked baby, riding the hurricane, or the celent cherubs, on horseback ...".
These figures so precisely delineated by Blake, rejecting the ideal tradition of perspective composition, evoke enigmatic images of other worlds.
His style reflects with great precision his personal mystical vision, in which image and reality are one.
William Blake began his activity as an artist as an engraver but he was also able to express himself through poetry and painting, in particular through a symbolism of great impact. For the artist, the spiritual sphere is much more important than the material world and he compared a true artist to a prophet, since he is endowed with divine intuition.
Comparing artists: Etty, Martin, Moreau, Redon, Turner
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