Behemoth and Leviathan (1874)

Title

Behemoth and Leviathan (1874)

Student Commentary:

At the top of this image from Blake’s Illustrations of the Book of Job (1874 reprint), God is pointing down two of his creations, Behemoth and Leviathan. Behemoth is the creature who appears to have attributes of real animals such as a rhino, elephant and hippo; under him is Leviathan, an underwater sea monster. Both of these are creatures of chaos, who can only be created and destroyed by God himself. The group of people below God, who are looking at the creatures, consists of Job, his wife, and family. Blake surrounds the central image with his own selection of texts.

Links:

Detailed View of Image at the William Blake Archive

Detailed View of Image at the Morgan Library

About this Book

Source

William Blake@Union Digital Collection