Pity

The iconic visionary work Pity by William Blake, executed between 1790 and 1800, is a masterful example of the artist's innovative printmaking. The piece was created using Blake's distinctive method of color relief etching, followed by detailed hand-finishing with pen and ink and watercolor, resulting in a unique artwork that transcends standard print classification.

This composition is directly inspired by a famous passage from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (Act I, Scene 7), where the titular character contemplates murder: "Pity, like a naked new-born babe / Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubin, horsed / Upon the sightless couriers of the air.” Blake powerfully translates this dramatic text into visual form. The central figure is the infant, representing the spirit of Pity, seen descending through the clouds. Below, a distraught woman lies prostrate, often interpreted as the mother figure, lamenting the suffering or death referenced in the literary source.

The dramatic visual movement is heightened by the inclusion of powerful, dynamic horses surging through the air above the woman, acting as "sightless couriers" mentioned by Shakespeare. This integration of classical subjects like women, horses, and the vulnerable infant, combined with the piece’s dark coloring, emphasizes the tempestuous yet protective nature of compassion central to the work's theme.

As an important example of British prints from the Romantic era, the work resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. High-resolution images of this print are frequently available through public domain initiatives, ensuring continued study of Blake’s unique contributions to visual art and literature.