The Book of Job: Pl. 9, Then a Spirit passed before my face / the hair of my flesh stood up

The engraving The Book of Job: Pl. 9, Then a Spirit passed before my face / the hair of my flesh stood up by William Blake, created in 1825, is one of the twenty-one etched plates illustrating the biblical narrative of Job. This print is a powerful example of Blake's late career mastery of the medium. The technique utilized, engraving, allowed the artist to achieve the intense linearity and sharp contrast characteristic of his unique visionary style, emphasizing the spiritual drama of the text.

This specific plate visualizes Job 4:15, depicting the moment where Job’s friend Eliphaz, attempting to justify divine punishment, recounts a terrifying spectral visitation. Blake renders the figure of Eliphaz recoiling in a posture of fearful awe as the ethereal spirit looms over him, a classical yet dynamic interpretation of profound dread. The composition starkly reinforces the terrifying ambiguity of the vision, a thematic constant in Blake’s oeuvre. Blake, a highly influential figure in the art history of the United Kingdom, consistently merged his own complex spiritual interpretations with traditional religious texts.

Executed just two years before the artist’s death, the complete series of Book of Job engravings represents the culmination of Blake’s lifelong engagement with religious and mythological subjects. As a devoted printmaker, Blake ensured his visions were reproducible, and these original prints remain highly valued historical artifacts. For researchers today, high-resolution scans of works like this, which often reside in the public domain due to their age, provide critical insight into 19th-century British spiritual art. This significant piece of graphic art is housed within the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.