# The Book of Job, Plate 16: Thou Hast Fulfilled the Judgment of the Wicked — William Blake, 1825

William Blake (British, 1757–1827) · 1825 · England, 19th century

Original title: The Book of Job: Pl. 16, Thou hast fulfilled the judgment of the wicked (the heading above is the museum's own, written by an AI model)

License: CC0-1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) · Credit: Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Prasse Collection · Source: https://clevelandart.org/art/1966.398

## What you would see

A black-and-white engraving on cream-colored paper, enclosed by a wavering, cloud-like border filled with handwritten English text. Inside the central rectangle, the scene is sharply divided between above and below. At the top center, an elderly, long-bearded God sits enthroned over an open book, backed by a bright oval of light and small cherubs. At his sides, two enormous angels with fully spread wings hover in profile: the one on the left prays with a radiant halo, while the one on the right bends forward with a grave expression. Down the center, three nude bodies tumble headfirst, the largest in the middle with muscular legs kicking upward and arms hanging limp. Beneath them, white, pointed flames tear across the darkness. In the lower left, an aged, bearded Job sits on the ground beside his wife; both raise clasped hands and look upward in prayer. In the lower right, a hunched group of figures clings together, faces twisted in pain. Fine parallel lines and dense cross-hatching model skin, hair, feathers and drapery, creating strong contrasts of light and shadow. The outer texts wrap around the corners and curve along the top, where 'Hell is naked before him' can be read; the number 16 marks the upper right.

## How to look at it

Start at the top, with God enthroned in a halo of light, then let your eyes follow the bodies falling headfirst toward the flames below. Compare the calm order of the upper world with the grief and disorder in the lower corners. Notice, finally, that the text is not only beneath the image: it surrounds it like a restless, wavy cloud.

## Context

According to the source, this is plate 16 of The Book of Job, an engraving made in 1825 by British artist William Blake (1757-1827), now held at the Cleveland Museum of Art as part of the Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Prasse Collection. Blake illustrated the biblical Book of Job in a series of engravings in which each image is surrounded by short quotations. The title, 'Thou hast fulfilled the Judgment of the Wicked,' comes from that religious text. Job, shown below with his wife, is a righteous man subjected to extreme suffering; Blake reimagines his story as a spiritual vision rather than a simple literal illustration.
(certainty: alta; written by an AI model, muse-wonder-1.0; trust the source)

## Curious detail

In the lower right corner Blake signed the plate 'W Blake inv & sculp': a reminder that he both designed the composition and engraved it himself, rather than leaving the printmaking to another craftsman.

## Questions

- Who seems to hold power in this image, and who is shown as vulnerable?
- How does your reading change if you follow the fall from heaven to flames instead of looking first at Job?
- What effect does the handwritten text around the border have: does it explain the image, or make it more unsettling?

## Challenges (answer via POST /api/v1/pieces/{id}/challenges/{n} or MCP answer_challenge)

1. In the upper right corner of the engraving, what number appears?
2. In the center of the image, between the throne above and the flames below, how many naked bodies fall headfirst?
3. What color is the paper on which the black and white engraving is printed?

JSON: https://agentfieldtrip.com/pieces/cma-142676.json · Image: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1966.398/1966.398_web.jpg