The Virgin and Child in Egypt thumbnail 1
The Virgin and Child in Egypt thumbnail 2
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

The Virgin and Child in Egypt

Tempera Painting
1810 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Blake, William (artist)
Place of origin
Great Britain (painted)

This is one of four similar paintings that Blake made for his faithful patron Thomas Butts. The others depict Adam, Eve and Christ. As a group, they show the fall and redemption of mankind. Here Blake depicted the Virgin Mary and Jesus in an Egypt of the artist's imagination, under the palm tree where they are said to have sheltered. The Pyramids are in the distance, and the Nile and walls of Cairo in the background.

Object details

Categories
Religion
Paintings
Object type
Tempera painting
TitleThe Virgin and Child in Egypt (popular title)
Materials and techniques
tempera on canvas
Brief description
Tempera painting entitled 'The Virgin and Child in Egypt' by William Blake. Great Britain, 1810.
Physical description
Portrait format painting depicting a child on it's mother's lap, with the child looking directly a the viewer and the mother looking down at the child.
Dimensions
  • Estimate height: 76.5cm
  • Estimate width: 63.5cm
  • Frame height: 375mm
  • Frame width: 485mm
  • Frame depth: 60mm
  • Frame height: 90cm
  • Frame width: 78cm
  • Frame depth: 6.5cm
Dimensions taken from departmental object file
Style
British School
Marks and inscriptions
'Fresco by Wm Blake 1810' (Signed and dated by the artist on the trunk of the palm tree)
Credit line
Given by Paul Mellon
Object history
Thomas Butts; Thomas Butts jnr.; SIr William Stirling Maxwell; General Archibald Stirling; Lt.-Col. William Stirling; Paul Mellon; Given to the V&A by Paul Mellon, 1953
Subjects depicted
The Virgin Mary
Jesus
Place depicted
Egypt
Summary
This is one of four similar paintings that Blake made for his faithful patron Thomas Butts. The others depict Adam, Eve and Christ. As a group, they show the fall and redemption of mankind. Here Blake depicted the Virgin Mary and Jesus in an Egypt of the artist's imagination, under the palm tree where they are said to have sheltered. The Pyramids are in the distance, and the Nile and walls of Cairo in the background.
Bibliographic references
  • Butlin, Martin. William Blake., London : Tate Gallery, 1978 no. 214
  • W. M. Rossetti, "Annotated Catalogue" in A. Gilchrist Life of William Blake, 2 vols, 1863, II, p.230, no.185.
  • W. M. Rossetti, "Annotated Catalogue" in A. Gilchrist Life of William Blake, 2 vols, 1880 (enlarged edition), II, p.243, no.211.
  • G.keynes, William Blake's Illustrations to the Bible, 1957, p.30, no.97, repr
  • Butlin, M. "The Bicentenary of William Blake", Burlington Magazine c, 1958, pp.40, 43
  • A. S. Roe "The Thunder of Egypt", in A. H. Rosenfeld (ed.) William Blake: Essays for S. Foster Damon, 1969, p.182
  • Bindman, D., Blake as an Artist 1977, p.171, repr. pl.128
  • M. D. Paley, William Blake, 1978, p.56, repr. pl.78
  • Butlin, M., The Paintings and Drawings of William Blake, I, pp.483-4, cat. no. 669, repr. pl.962.
  • Bindman, D, William Blake: His Art and Times, 1982, p.134, fig.30.
  • Evans, Mark et al. Vikutoria & Arubāto Bijutsukan-zō : eikoku romanshugi kaigaten = The Romantic tradition in British painting, 1800-1950 : masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Japan : Brain Trust, 2002
  • Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings Accessions 1953 London: HMSO, 1963
  • Exhibition of the works of William Blake, London : Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1876 128
  • Catalogue of loan collection of pictures by French and British artists of the 18th century, Glasgow : The Museum, 1902 123
  • A catalogue of frescoes, prints, & drawings by William Blake, London : Carfax & Co., Ltd., 1906 no.5
  • Keynes, Geoffrey, The Tempera Paintings of William Blake : a critical catalogue, London : Arts Council of Great Britain, 1951 no.24
  • Russell, Archibald G.B., Catalogue : Blake centenary exhibition, London : Privately printed for the Burlington Fine Arts Club, 1927 no.15
  • La Peinture Romantique Anglaise et les Préraphaélites, Paris : Petit Palais, 1972 8
  • Masterpieces of Paintings from the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tokyo : Catalogue Committee, 1990 no. 35
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
P.25-1953

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Record createdMay 13, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O80677/the-virgin-and-child-in-tempera-painting-blake-william/
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