Tempera and gold on canvas
Tate Collection
Works with images
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<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/william-blake-39" aria-label="More by William Blake" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">William Blake</a>
Spiritual Form Pitt Guiding Behemoth
Purchased 1882
actions: expressive
actions: postures and motions
adults
agriculture and fishing
agriculture, gardening & fishing
animals: fantastic
astronomy
Behemoth
Bible: Old Testament
birth to death
contorted
death
destruction
diseases and conditions
emotions and human qualities
emotions, concepts and ideas
fighting
figure
halo
harvesting
history
horror
individuals: male
male
man
militarism
military
monster
mysticism
named individuals
Napoleonic Wars, 1796-1815
night
nudes
objects
pain
people
Pitt, William
plough
ploughing
pointing
politician, prime minister
portraits
public service
religion and belief
sickle
social comment
society
society
spirit
star
symbols and personifications
times of the day
universal concepts
universal religious imagery
vision
war - monster
work and occupations
<p>Here, Blake depicts the Prime Minister, William Pitt, at the centre of an apocalyptic vision of war. He stands astride the biblical beast known as the Behemoth. Pitt had led Britain into war against France following the 1789 French Revolution. Blake was critical of empire and violence in his writings. However, he may have regarded war as a necessary evil clearing the way for change. Blake showed this painting in his solo exhibition in 1809. He described this work as a ‘fresco’ painting, but Blake actually used his own experimental formula involving tempera, gum, glue, and chalks.</p><p><em>Gallery label, October 2023</em></p>
painting tempera gold canvas
15 October 2001 – 7 July 2002
2002-07-07
15 October 2001 – 7 July 2002
2002-07-07
2001-10-15
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2001-10-15
William Blake and His Followers
Collection based display
8 July 2002 – 1 October 2003
2003-10-01
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2002-07-08
William Blake Body and Soul
Collection based display
8 July 2002 – 16 March 2003
2003-03-16
8 July 2002 – 16 March 2003
2003-03-16
2002-07-08
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2002-07-08
Body and Soul
Collection based display
6 December 2004 – 15 August 2005
2005-08-15
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2004-12-06
Blake and Jerusalem
Collection based display
15 February 2006 – 1 May 2006
2006-05-01
15 February 2006 – 1 May 2006
2006-05-01
2006-02-15
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2006-02-15
Gothic Nightmares: Fuseli, Blake and the Romantic Imagination
Exhibition
20 April 2009 – 4 October 2009
2009-10-04
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2009-04-20
William Blake: The 1809 Exhibition
Collection based display
1 November 2011 – 21 October 2012
2012-10-21
1 November 2011 – 19 February 2012
2012-02-19
2011-11-01
State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow, Russia)
3 July 2012 – 21 October 2012
2012-10-21
2012-07-03
Fundació “la Caixa” (Madrid, Spain)
2011-11-01
Blake Exhibition
Loan-out
13 May 2013 – 6 April 2015
2015-04-06
13 May 2013 – 6 April 2015
2015-04-06
2013-05-13
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2013-05-13
William Blake
Collection based display
20 April 2015 – 7 May 2017
2017-05-07
20 April 2015 – 7 May 2017
2017-05-07
2015-04-20
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2015-04-20
William Blake
Collection based display
22 May 2017 – 28 July 2019
2019-07-28
22 May 2017 – 28 July 2019
2019-07-28
2017-05-22
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2017-05-22
William Blake in Focus
Collection based display
11 September 2019 – 2 February 2020
2020-02-02
11 September 2019 – 2 February 2020
2020-02-02
2019-09-11
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2019-09-11
William Blake: The Artist
Exhibition
17 April 2023 – 12 May 2024
2024-05-12
17 April 2023 – 12 May 2024
2024-05-12
2023-04-17
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2023-04-17
Blake
Collection based display
29 October 2024 – 30 September 2025
2025-09-30
30 October 2024 – 2 February 2025
2025-02-02
2024-10-30
Reggia di Venaria Reale (Turin, Italy)
1 September 2025 – 31 January 2026
2026-01-31
2025-09-01
Museum of Fine Arts (Budapest, Hungary)
1 March 2026 – 31 August 2026
2026-08-31
2026-03-01
External
2024-10-29
William Blake and the Age of Romantic Fantasy: British Art & Imagination
Loan-out
The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth
support: 740 × 627 mm
frame: 875 × 753 × 85 mm
Purchased 1882
<div class="text">
<p>Here, Blake depicts the Prime Minister, William Pitt, at the centre of an apocalyptic vision of war. He stands astride the biblical beast known as the Behemoth. Pitt had led Britain into war against France following the 1789 French Revolution. Blake was critical of empire and violence in his writings. However, he may have regarded war as a necessary evil clearing the way for change. Blake showed this painting in his solo exhibition in 1809. He described this work as a ‘fresco’ painting, but Blake actually used his own experimental formula involving tempera, gum, glue, and chalks. </p>
</div>

Display caption
2023-10-26T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-the-spiritual-form-of-pitt-guiding-behemoth-n01110" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N01110</span></a> <b>The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth</b> 1805(?)
<br/>
<br/>N 01110 / B 651
<br/>Tempera heightened with gold on canvas 740×627 (29 1/8×24 3/4)</p>
<p>Signed ‘WBlake 1805 [? - the last digit is obscure]’ b.r.
<br/>Purchased by the National Gallery 1882; transferred to the Tate Gallery 1931
<br/>PROVENANCE Samuel Palmer; A.H. Palmer, offered Christie's 20 March 1882 (108) £ 100 bt in and sold 1882 to the National Gallery
<br/>EXHIBITED Blake's exhibition 1809 (2); Associated Painters in Water-Colours 1812 (279); <i>Old Masters</i> RA 1871 (285, as ‘Rt. Hon. William Pitt’); BFAC 1876 (201); Tate Gallery (64), Manchester (43), Nottingham (30) and Edinburgh (1) 1913–14; <i>Two Centuries of English Art</i> Amsterdam 1936 (2); Tate Gallery 1947 (43); Tate Gallery 1978 (206, repr.)
<br/>LITERATURE Blake <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i> 1809, pp.2–7 (reprinted in Keynes <i>Writings</i> 1957, pp.565–6); Rossetti 1880, p.221 no.95; Robertson in Gilchrist 1907, p.493 no.14; Damon 1924, p.95; Blunt in <i>Warburg Journal</i>, VI, 1943, p.206, pl.59b; Schorer 1946, pp.174–5, 478n.; Bronowski 1947, pp.52, 80; Frye 1947, p.139; Blunt 1959, pp.38, 78, 97–103, pl.46c; Damon 1965, pp.39, 239–40; Beer 1968, pp.189–90; Raine 1968, 1, p.359, pl. 116; Taylor in <i>Blake Studies</i>, 1, 1968, pp.72–8, pl.75; Erdman 1969, p.449; Paley 1970, pp.171–99; Macmillan in <i>Blake Newsletter</i>, v, 1971–2, p.204; Lindberg <i>Job</i> 1973, pp.18–19 no.xv, 302–11 no.15G, pl.55, a reconstruction repr. pl.56b; Raymond Lister, <i>The Letters of Samuel Palmer</i>, 1974, 1, pp.475–6 n., 11, pp.896–7; Wittrcich 1975, pp.68–9; Tayler in <i>Blake Newsletter</i>, X, 1976–7, pp.80–1; Bindman 1977, pp.155, 160–1, 163–4; Erdman 1977, pp.521–2; Paley 1978, pp.53, 66, 179, pl.48; Butlin 1981, pp.473–4 no.651, pl.877; Raymond Lister, ‘The National Gallery &amp; Blake's “Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth”’, <i>Blake</i>, XVII, 1983–4, pp.105–6; Baine 1986, p.35; Boime 1987, pp.345–9, pl.4.41. <i>Also repr: Mizue</i>, no.882, 1978, 9, pp.30–31 in colour
<br/></p>
<p>An old label on the back of the <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>painting</span></a>, seemingly inscribed by Samuel Palmer, supplies the date 1805; the date inscribed by Blake on the picture is obscure. The painting was restored by George Richmond in Palmer's studio and again at the Tate Gallery in 1977.
<br/>
<br/>In the catalogue of Blake's exhibition the title continues ‘...; he is that Angel who, pleased to perform the Almighty's orders, rides on the whirlwind, directing the storms of war: He is ordering the Reaper to reap the Vine of the Earth, and the Plowman to plow up the Cities and Towers’.
<br/>
<br/>The painting was exhibited as a companion to ‘The Spiritual Form of Nelson guiding Leviathan’ (<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-the-spiritual-form-of-nelson-guiding-leviathan-n03006" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N03006</span></a>) and Blake goes on to explain that these two works ‘are compositions of a mythological cast, similar to those Apotheoses of Persian, Hindoo, and Egyptian Antiquity, which are still preserved on rude monuments, being copies from some stupendous originals now lost or perhaps buried till some happier age ... The Artist wishes it was now the fashion to make such monuments, and then he should not doubt of having a national commission to execute these two Pictures on a scale that is suitable to the grandeur of the nation, who is the parent of his heroes, in high finished <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/f/fresco" title="Glossary definition for 'Fresco'"><span>fresco</span></a>, where the colours would be as pure and as permanent as precious stones though the figures were one hundred feet in height’.
<br/>
<br/>In the light of Blake's reference to Eastern Antiquities it is particularly interesting that the <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/f/form" title="Glossary definition for 'Form'"><span>form</span></a> of Pitt's halo is similar to that used in Buddhist art; this was probably known to him through <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/e/engraving" title="Glossary definition for 'Engraving'"><span>engravings</span></a>. In more general terms the <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/composition" title="Glossary definition for 'Composition'"><span>composition</span></a> is probably indebted, as Lindberg has suggested, to Frans Floris's ‘Charlemagne as Victory’, engraved in 1552 by Hieronymous Cock (repr. <i>op. cit.</i> pl. 130).
<br/>
<br/>William Pitt (1759–1806) was a near contemporary of Nelson (1758–1805) and Blunt, followed by Lindberg, has shown that this work and ‘The Spiritual Form of Nelson’ are apocalyptic visions of war paralleled in Blake's writings of the same period. In these writings war appears as a perversion of energy (in itself a virtue) and as a prelude to the Last Judgment. The reaper and plowman who accompany Pitt are derived from Amos, ix, 13, and are the angels who, in Revelation, xiv, 14–19, prepare ‘the great winepress of the wrath of God’, introduced by Blake into <i>Millon</i>, written <i>c.</i>1800–10, as the ‘Wine-press of Los ... call'd War on Earth’ (Keynes <i>Writings</i> 1957, p.513). The biblical monsters Leviathan and Behemoth, from Job, xxxvii, 9, 12–13, appear in <i>Jerusalem</i>, <i>c.</i>1804–20, as ‘the War by Sea enormous &amp; the War By Land astounding’ (Keynes <i>Writings</i> 1957, p.738).
<br/>
<br/>Raine and Lindberg also see a secondary meaning in the two paintings as expressions of Blake's belief in the righteousness of the war then being waged against Napoleon, their protagonists being shown as victors as opposed to their apparently tethered and powerless opponent in the lost ‘Spiritual Form of Napoleon’ (Butlin 1981, no.652). They also point to the allusion in Blake's title to Addison's lines on Marlborough:
<br/></p>
<p>Pleas'd the Almighty's order to perform
<br/>He rides the whirlwind and directs the storm.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Later in his <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i> Blake adapts Nelson's famous message: ‘England expects that every man should do his duty, in the Arts as well as in Arms, or in the Senate’ (Keynes <i>Writings</i> 1957, p.584).
<br/>Raymond Lister has published some letters between George Richmond and Sir William Boxall RA, Director of the National Gallery 1865–74. From these it appears that the painting was offered to the National Gallery in 1870 through Richmond at 500 guineas, subsequently reduced by Palmer himself to 300 guineas, though renewed by Richmond at 350 guineas; the Trustees of the National Gallery refused it at this price. The picture was offered to them again in 1874 but nothing came of this and the picture was eventually acquired by the National Gallery in 1882 at the price, £100, at which it had been bought in at Christie's the same year.</p>
<p>
<br/><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Martin Butlin, <i>William Blake 1757-1827</i>, Tate Gallery Collections, V, London 1990
<br/>
<br/></p>

Catalogue entry
2004-09-23T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
actions: expressive actions: postures and motions adults agriculture and fishing agriculture, gardening & fishing animals: fantastic astronomy Behemoth Bible: Old Testament birth to death contorted death destruction diseases and conditions emotions and human qualities emotions, concepts and ideas fighting figure halo harvesting history horror individuals: male male man militarism military monster mysticism named individuals Napoleonic Wars, 1796-1815 night nudes objects pain people Pitt, William plough ploughing pointing politician, prime minister portraits public service religion and belief sickle social comment society society spirit star symbols and personifications times of the day universal concepts universal religious imagery vision war - monster work and occupations