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Printing Instructions

William Blake

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		The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, ca.1805 William Blake (British, 1757–1827) Watercolor, brush and gray wash, pen and black ink over graphite on paper; 14 1/8 x 13 1/16 in. (35.6 x 33.1 cm) Matthew 25: 1–13 Rogers Fund, 1914 (14.81.2) Description

Description

This parable—a call to live life in anticipation of the final day of reckoning and salvation—contrasts five maidens who prepare for the arrival of their bridegrooms (by obtaining oil for their lamps) with five others who squander their opportunity and therefore miss their marriage feasts. This pale, elegant watercolor, composed within a single plane resembling a low-relief sculpture, is the earliest of four versions of the subject to be painted by Blake.

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