Job and His Family Restored to Prosperity

William Blake’s Job and His Family Restored to Prosperity, created in 1825, is a masterful example of the artist’s late period vision, illustrating the rewarding conclusion to the biblical Book of Job. This powerful work belongs to Blake’s celebrated series of illustrations, which represent one of the high points of his graphic career. Executed as an engraving on thin paper, the medium emphasizes the meticulous precision and intense linear energy central to the British Romantic tradition flourishing during the period of 1801 to 1825.

The scene depicts Job and his wife surrounded by their renewed prosperity and family, having been restored by God following their great trials and suffering. Blake’s characteristic style fuses dense human figures and dynamic anatomical forms with sweeping, visionary architectural elements. The technique, rendered as an engraving suitable for mass reproduction, allowed the work to be distributed efficiently as part of a published portfolio of prints. This detail-oriented, symbolic style contrasts sharp realism with ethereal forms, hallmarks of the artist's distinctive approach to religious narrative.

Completed only two years before the artist’s death, the Job series is often regarded as the spiritual summation of Blake’s life work, merging medieval design principles with radical prophetic intensity. The series, including the image Job and His Family Restored to Prosperity, profoundly influenced subsequent generations of artists and designers interested in spiritual and mythical themes. This significant piece is maintained in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, where scholars can study the intricacy of the original. As a major work of early 19th-century graphic art, high-quality reproductions of these influential prints are widely available today, often designated within the public domain.