William Blake

Robert Cromek;
by inheritance to his widow;
Thomas Sivright, 
his sale, Edinburgh, C.B. Tait, 10 February 1836, lot 1835 (part of lot);
possibly John Stannard (1795-1881);
by family descent until with Caladonia Books, Glasgow, by 2001;
sale, New York, Sotheby's, 2 May 2006, lot 8

G.E. Bentley, Blake Records, New Haven and London, 2001, pp. 482-83, note 58; 
M. Butlin, 'Newly Risen from the Grave: Nineteen Unknown Watercolors by William Blake', Blake, An Illustrated Quarterly, vol. 35, no. 3, Winter 2002, p. 71 and reproduced p. 69

The drawing and support are in generally excellent condition. Primary support: Fine, smooth surfaced (hot-pressed), light weight, white wove paper, laid down overall to the mount. Vague traces of a watermark, possibly J. Whatman, are present at the lower right. Condition: Fine scratches in the approximate center of the sheet, and more subtle scratches at the lower left. Minor abrasion at the lower left, upper left, and upper right corner. Minor surface dirt at the upper right (on the light colored wall at the cave entry), and at the bottom center in the standing female nude. The colors are vibrant and are in good tonal balance and there is no discoloration of the support. Mount: Off white (now discolored) smooth surfaced, wove paper pasteboard backed with laid paper, the latter bearing the crown and fleur-de-lys watermark of William Balston and the Hollingworth Brothers at Turkey Mill. The pasteboard is composed of two or three sheets of paper laminated together by the artist or the colorman-supplier. A decorative wash border and ink lines surround the primary support. Minor undulations are present at the center of the top margin from the mounting process. Minor surface dirt and grime are present in the margins from handling. Dark paper accretions are present at the corners of the verso from a previous mounting.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This watercolor is one of nineteen works by William Blake that were rediscovered in 2001 in a small bookshop in Glasgow and that subsequently appeared at auction at Sotheby's, New York on 2 May 2006.  These designs, which had been preserved in a leather portfolio, were linked to a commission that Blake received in 1805 from Robert Cromek, asking him to provide illustrations for a new edition of Robert Blair's epic, 767-line poem, The Grave.  Despite being largely unknown today, The Grave, which was first published in 1743, had gone through 47 editions by 1798.  Cromek wanted to produce a grander version than had ever been printed before: a deluxe edition, in imperial quarto with large illustrations.  Much confusion remains over the exact number of designs Blake created for Cromek's project, but current scholarship suggests that he completed twenty-two or twenty-three watercolors, of which twelve were then engraved by Louis Schiavonetti.  The Grave was finally published in July 1808 and had more than 500 advance subscribers, including many of the most prominent artists of the day.  The re-emergence of the group was described by the distinguished Blake scholar Martin Butlin as ‘arguably the most important since Blake began to be appreciated in the second half of the nineteenth century’.

In the present work, Blake depicts a diversity of humanity leaving the light of the earth and descending into the gloom of the grave.  The figures are both young and old and they move down a rocky path with a mixture of fear, grief and fright.  The verticality of the composition emphasizes the inexorable journey into the depths.

The image loosely corresponds to a passage within the last third of Robert Blair’s poem, where the author describes the inhabitants of the grave: Here is the mother with her sons and daughters; The barren wife; and long-demurring maid… Here are the prude severe, and gay coquette, The sober widow, and the young green virgin.  Alongside this Blake seems to explore other themes, such as the seven ages of man and the journey of life, ideas that interested him deeply and that frequently appeared in his poetry, his drawings and his prints.

In the British Museum in London there is a related watercolour entitled The Descent of Man into the Vale of Death: But Hope Rekindled, only to Illume the Shades of Death, and Light Her to the Tomb.¹  That work is also thought to date from 1805, but it was probably commissioned by Thomas Butts (see lot 176), rather than being connected to Cromek’s project. 

^1. M. Butlin, The Paintings and Drawings of William Blake, New Haven 1981, p. 465, p. 638