1827
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Circle of the Lustful: Paolo and Francesca is a 1827 ink by William Blake, a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This engraving shows a chaotic, swirling scene of people trapped in a giant, stormy vortex. Some figures are tangled in the wind, others cling to each other, and a few float helplessly. The sky is dark, with flashes of light breaking through, and the ground below looks like churning water. Notice how the artist used tiny, crisscrossed lines to build up shadows and depth—this is called cross-hatching. The tiny details make the chaos feel even more intense. Check out how engraving works to create this kind of dramatic effect.
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter and printmaker.
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