1827
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Circle of the Corrupt Officials; the Devils Mauling Each Other is a 1827 ink by William Blake, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows two winged, muscular figures wrestling in choppy water. Their faces are twisted in pain, and one clutches the other’s arm. The waves around them are drawn with swirling lines, while the sky above is filled with faint, ghostly shapes—some standing, some floating. The artist used fine, crisscrossed lines to build up shadows and texture, especially in the water and wings. This method is called cross-hatching. Look up cross-hatching to see how artists create depth with just lines.
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter and printmaker.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
