Graphite, ink and watercolour on paper
Tate Collection
Works with images
General Collection
Art Fund
Illustrations to Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’
Collection
<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>
Laborious Passage along Rocks
Purchased with the assistance of a special grant from the National Gallery and donations from the Art Fund, Lord Duveen and others, and presented through the Art Fund 1919
actions: postures and motions
adults
characters
climbing
Dante
Dante, ‘Divine Comedy: Inferno’
gorge
Hell
Hell
Judaeo-Christian imagery
landscape
literary
literature (not Shakespeare)
literature and fiction
man
mythical, religious, fictional
people
places
poet
religion and belief
rocky
Virgil
work and occupations
<p>This is an illustration to the part of Dante's Divine Comedy dealing with the Inferno: Hell. The poet Virgil, seen standing just to the left of centre, is guiding Dante through Hell, which consists of successive circles, each containing different categories of sinners. Here Virgil is helping Dante climb up the massive boulders separating the pit of hypocrites from the pit of thieves.</p><p><em>Gallery label, February 2004</em></p>
paper unique graphite ink watercolour
24 March 2003 – 17 November 2003
2003-11-17
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2003-03-24
Blake and Illustration
Collection based display
13 May 2013 – 6 October 2013
2013-10-06
13 May 2013 – 6 October 2013
2013-10-06
2013-05-13
Tate Britain (London, UK)
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/
2013-05-13
Landscape in Blake
Collection based display
The Laborious Passage along the Rocks
support: 373 × 527 mm
Purchased with the assistance of a special grant from the National Gallery and donations from the <a href="/search?gid=999999968" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Art Fund</a>, Lord Duveen and others, and presented through the <a href="/search?gid=999999968" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Art Fund</a> 1919
<div class="para3">
<span class="text9">This is an illustration to the part of Dante's </span><span class="text3">Divine Comedy</span><span class="text6"> dealing with the </span><span class="text3">Inferno</span><span class="text6">: Hell. The poet Virgil,      seen standing just to the left</span><span class="text9">
</span><span class="text2">of centre, is guiding Dante through Hell,</span><span class="text9"> which consists of successive circles, each containing      different categories of sinners. Here Virgil is helping Dante climb up the      massive boulders separating the pit of hypocrites from the pit of thieves. </span>
</div>

Display caption
2004-02-10T00:00:00
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-laborious-passage-along-the-rocks-n03360" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N03360</span></a> <b>The Laborious Passage along the Rocks</b> 1824–7 [<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-circle-of-the-lustful-francesca-da-rimini-the-whirlwind-of-lovers-a00005" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>A00005</span></a>-<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-dante-striking-against-bocca-degli-abati-a00011" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>A00011</span></a>; <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-dante-and-virgil-penetrating-the-forest-n03351" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N03351</span></a>-<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-dante-in-the-empyrean-drinking-at-the-river-of-light-n03370" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N03370</span></a>; <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-circle-of-the-lustful-francesca-da-rimini-the-whirlwind-of-lovers-t01950" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>T01950</span></a>-<a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-dante-striking-against-bocca-degli-abati-t01956" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>T01956</span></a>; complete]
<br/></p>
<p>N 03360 / B 812 <i>46</i>
<br/>Pencil, pen and watercolour 373×527 (14 11/16×20 3/4)
<br/>Inscribed ‘HELL Canto 24’ in ink b.c. and ‘Canto 24 V 30 [?]’ in pencil b.r. and, on reverse in pencil, ‘N40 next at p 75’ t.c., ‘Hell Canto 24 v 60’ b.l. and ‘69’ t.l., all turned through a right-angle
<br/>Watermarked ‘WELGAR 1796’ Purchased with the assistance of a special grant from the National Gallery and donations from the National Art-Collections Fund, Lord Duveen and others, and presented through the National Art-Collections Fund 1919
<br/>PROVENANCE As for <span>N03351</span>
<br/>EXHIBITED Hamburg and Frankfurt 1975 (210, repr.)
<br/>LITERATURE Rossetti 1863, p.219 no.101r<sup>1</sup> ors<sup>1</sup>, and 1880, p.230 no.123r<sup>1</sup> or s<sup>1</sup>; Roc 1953, pp.100–1 no.46, repr.; Klonsky 1980, p.148, colour pl.48; Butlin 1981, p.570 no.812 <i>46</i>; Gizzi 1983, p.126 repr.
<br/></p>
<p>This is an illustration to <i>Inferno</i> XXIV, 19–36: Virgil, having led Dante past a shattered bridge, helps Dante up the series of massive boulders that separate the pit of the hypocrites from the seventh pit in the eighth circle, that devoted to the thieves. There is a second, upright treatment of this subject in the British Museum (Butlin 1981, no.812 <i>45</i>, repr. Roe 1953, pl.45, Klonsky 1980, pl.47 and Gizzi 1983, p.125). This may illustrate the slightly later passage, lines 37–63, where the cliff becomes still steeper.</p>
<p>
<br/><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Martin Butlin, <i>William Blake 1757-1827</i>, Tate Gallery Collections, V, London 1990
<br/></p>

Catalogue entry
2004-07-16T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
actions: postures and motions adults characters climbing Dante Dante, ‘Divine Comedy: Inferno’ gorge Hell Hell Judaeo-Christian imagery landscape literary literature and fiction literature (not Shakespeare) man mythical, religious, fictional people places poet religion and belief rocky Virgil work and occupations