The Dance of Albion (Glad Day)

c. 1803/1810

William Blake

Associated Names
William Blake

Artist, British, 1757 - 1827

This print shows a full-length portrait of a nude man standing in a dynamic pose, with one leg lifted to the side and both arms stretched outward. The man's head is slightly tilted toward the right, and he has a long nose, a small mouth, thin eyebrows, and large eyes with long lashes. He has short, curly hair that radiates outward, and a muscular body. The man stands on a small section of ground that appears to have leaves or small plants on it, with a large worm next to his foot and a winged bug or bat flying near his outstretched foot. The rest of the background is filled with swirling cloud shapes and lines radiating from the man, suggesting rays of light or energy. Some lines of text are written below the print.

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 27 x 19.4 cm (10 5/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 30.8 x 23.2 cm (12 1/8 x 9 1/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8990

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Bindman 1978, no. 400

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1947

  • Prints and Drawings by William Blake, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1947, no cat.

1957

  • The Art of William Blake, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1957, no. 67, repro.

1961

  • Blake, University of Iowa, Iowa City, 1961.

1965

  • William Blake, Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1965, no. 18, repro.

  • William Blake, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 1965, no cat.

1970

  • William Blake's Graphic Art from the Rosenwald Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1970, no cat.

1982

  • William Blake: His Art and Times, Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT; and Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, 1982-1983, no. 49b, repro.

1990

  • William Blake, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1990, no. 18, repro.

1997

  • Six Centuries/Six Artists, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1997.

2000

  • William Blake, Tate Britain, London, 2000-2001, no. 176.

Bibliography

1978

  • Bindman, David. The Complete Graphic Works of William Blake. London: Thames and Hudson, 1978.

1996

  • Hults, Linda C. The Print in the Western World. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1996, 362; fig.6.41, 363.

Inscriptions

lower left in plate: WB inv 1780 (Bindman: either the date of conception or of first state); across bottom in plate: Albion rose from where he labourd at the Mill with Slaves / Giving himself for the Nations he danc'd the dance of Eternal [Death?]

Wikidata ID

Q65026706

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