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Artistic Splendor: Significant Works from the Thrivent Art Collection,

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William Blake
English, 1757-1827
"Then the Lord answered Job out of the Whirlwind," from The Book of Job (Plate XIII), 1825
Engraving

The challenges sent by the forces of evil to test Job's faith would make any of us doubt and beg God for an explanation. God, however, does not answer the patriarch's why. Rather, God shows Job divine power and command over nature, a power that transcends human understanding.

William Blake's twenty-one engraved illustrations quote the Bible profusely, bringing the Words energetically to life. Rather than leave the text accompanying the images unadorned, Blake pictorially absorbs it into the overall composition. In this particular engraving he depicts roots as symbols of the force of nature and personifications of the wind in the sky. Pictorially, such illustrated borders look back at medieval manuscripts, in which they were often deployed to beautiful artistic effect. The critical acclaim of Blake's Job popularized such visuals. They were soon emulated by illustrators of children's books, a nascent genre, with lasting influence.