The Day of Judgment, from "The Grave," a Poem by Robert Blair

The Day of Judgment, from "The Grave," a Poem by Robert Blair is a powerful engraving executed by William Blake in 1813. This print, illustrating Robert Blair’s popular 18th-century poem, showcases Blake's visionary approach, transforming the text into a densely packed scene of spiritual drama. Blake employed the demanding technique of line engraving to render the highly complex and swirling composition, demonstrating his mastery of the printing medium during a period of intense creative activity.

The composition centers on the biblical subject of the Last Judgement, depicted not as a static event but as a dynamic process of resurrection and reckoning. At the apex, Christ the Judge presides, radiating light and authority, flanked by attendant Angels sounding the trumpets of judgment. Below, the newly awakened dead emerge vigorously from the earth and their tombs. Blake utilizes the human form extensively, depicting numerous Male Nudes and Female Nudes ascending or descending as their fate is determined. Some figures rise toward salvation with expressions of rapture, while others struggle in torment, illustrating the eternal separation of the blessed and the damned.

Blake’s distinctive, linear style emphasizes emotional intensity and spiritual fervor over classical anatomical realism, resulting in a deeply symbolic and personal vision of this eschatological event. This exceptional example of Blake’s visionary prints is housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. As a significant work from the early 19th century, high-resolution reproductions of this print are frequently made available to the public domain through institutional initiatives, allowing scholars worldwide to study Blake’s complex iconography and detailed technique.