Image of the Day : Sconfitta by William Blake
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
Dark, powerful and beautiful. It is wonderful to see so many people reconsidering Blake – it was his own intention to “speak to future generations via a sublime allegory”
Without knowing anything of Blake we can see this much:
On the surface we see a man engaged in worshipping or appealing to a dark Sun.
At second glance the geometry of the picture reveals the Sun is a big, black cross with a circle at the centre, suggesting he is engaged in Son worship, and that which he worships is not fully illumninated to him, it is shrouded in darkness.
It could be the print quality, but one can almost discern a crucifix that has been painted over, or subtley suggested at within the Sun upon the hill.
These observations do not require any knowledge of Blake’s cosmology.
Wanbliska mentions the Fou Zoas central to Blake’s more cryptic and elaborate later works. In ‘Jerusalem’ Blake gives us a diagram of The Zoas as four interlocking circles, at the centre is a single egg containing the words ‘Adam’ and ‘Satan’ – like the familiar Vesica Piscis diagram, also frequently appearing in Blake’s work, this fourfold equivalent encodes the nature of the Son of God.
Blake says ‘good is the passive theat obeys reason, energy is the active springing grom energy’ – like Yin and Yang they are different halves of the same thing, as depicted in the egg I mentioned previously. Blake does not mention ‘Christ’ much in his work – this is because everything he describes is a single encoded message about the nature of the Son of God. To Blake (and, in my view, in truth) The Son of God is both Adam and Satan – The Son of God is Mankind in its current embryonic state (hence the egg, this is further clarified by illustrations from ‘The Gates of Paradise’, one labelled ‘What is Man?’ depicts a pupae that is also a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, another a winged infant emerging from an egg)
So the cross in ‘Sconfitta’ represents the Four Zoas and the Sun is their Son.
The man worshipping the Sun has long white hair and robes, recalling the depiction of Urizen familiar from Blake’s perhaps most famous painting, ‘The Ancient of Days’ – he is in the correct position according to the fourfold diagram I mentioned previously to back up this assertion.
Yet Urizen is outside of and distinct from that which he kneels before.
The fish symbol of the early christian movement is a section from the Vesica Piscis, the section where the two circles interlock, the section representing The Son of God. While the later formalised Christianity took the cross as their exoteric symbol the esoteric symbol is ‘The Tripod of Life’, not two interlocking circles (like the vesica piscis) or four (as Blake depicts in his fourfold diagram od the Four Zoas and their relatinoship to Adam and Satan) but three – Urizen is not included,m this archetype is formaised as separate from the Trinity.
It is interesting to note here that Tolkien’s Ailundale describes four principle ‘Angels’, though ‘Melkor’ (equivalent to the archetype of Urizen in Blake’s cosmology) is excluded from this quaternity because he seeks to impose his own order on creation, though this starts with good intentions his works are the source of all conflict in the middle Earth legandarium). Only the names are changed – this direct equaivalence between Tolkien and Blake’s cosmology is further clarified by the cover illustration, by Tolkien himself, of ‘The Silmarillion’, which contains ‘Ailundale’ – it is the central section of Blake’s diagrammatic representation of The Four Zoas.
Blake says ‘God only acts and is in existing beings of men’ – God is Mankind, is Adam is Satan is Urizen – there is only ONE.
I would disagree with Alexandria that Blake’s vision is fundamentally negative – anyone who looks with open eyes upon this epoch can see the suffering and also its beauty and majesty, and this is reflected in Blake’s work. But his message is ultimateley positive, that the suffering is for a purpose and of a finite duration, that ‘now is the return of Adam to paradise’:
“The ancient tradition that the world will be consumed in fire at the end of six thousand years is true, as I have heard from Hell. For the cherub with his flaming sword is hereby commanded to leave his guard at tree of life; and when he does, the whole creation will be consumed and appear infinite and holy, whereas it now appears finite and corrupt. This will come to pass by an improvement of sensual enjoyment. But first the notion that man has a body distinct from his soul is to be expunged; this I shall do by printing in the infernal method, by corrosives, which in Hell are salutary and medicinal, melting apparent surfaces away, and displaying the infinite which was hid. If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up till he sees all things thro’ narrow chinks of his cavern.”
Josh
jester.me.uk
Apologies for the numerous typos in my post. If you found it of interest I have corrected these errors and reposted the same article at jester.me.uk. If I get time I will fully illustrate the article and expand upon it, as I can see that my prose might be a little impenetrable in its present form, at least to the novice.
The article is at
http://jesterspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/12/keys-to-full-understanding-of-blake.html
JOSH X
Like all Blake images, simplicity, with layers of meaning. Ultimately, though, a vision behind it that transcends the material world of time and space.
Nossa !!!! Que maravilha ! …força mútua.
beijos,
Mari Raphael.
It is well know that W.Blake had a special opinion on God.He created his own mythology.His God was mischievious,playing to hurt people,not mercifull like we think.His life was full of sufference,maybe this painting reflects his own defeat ,he alone in front of an unfriendly universe.Being almost naked,he seems to be more vulnerable.Colours are dramatic.Still,I think he was great tallent.
Thank you dear Thelma
That’s just my searches, maybe not the truth. But anyway, an idea. ;)
Love
@ wanbliska. Thank you, so much for what you have communicated to us above. I was ignorant, about everything. I may still have.. the time to learn. I have been back to the Virtual exhibition, and you look as beautiful as wise. LOVE, THELMA
“Now I may say to you, what perhaps I should not dare to say to anyone else: That I can alone carry on my visionary studies in London unannoy’d, & that I may converse with my friends in Eternity, See Visions, Dream Dreams & prophecy & speak Parables unobserv’d & at liberty from the Doubts of other Mortals; perhaps Doubts proceeding from Kindness, but Doubts are always pernicious, Especially when we Doubt our Friends.”
William Blake in a letter to Thomas Butts, April 25 1803.
“The song of Los”, illuminated books painted by Blake and his wife, for the Continental Prophecies.
In William Blake’s mythology, Urizen is one of the first fourth sons of Albion, the primordial man, that’s called to be divided fourfold; by himself. That could also refers to the Ezechiel four Gospels, and pagan beliefs, regards to the creative chariot of God.
As to its meaning in greek, Urizen is one of the four Zoas, or four living ones, born from Albion. His sons are: Tharmas embodiement of instinct and strength. Urizen: “The primeaval priest”, wisdom, but also cruelty. Luvah/Orc for creative passion, love, emotion, rebellion. Urthona/Los, the eternal prophet, the smith, for inspiration and imagination.
“And the Four Points are thus beheld in Great Eternity West, the Circumference: South, the Zenith: North,
The Nadir: East, the Center, unapproachable for ever.
These are the four Faces towards the Four Worlds of Humanity
In every Man.
Ezekiel saw them by Chebars flood.
And the Eyes are the South, and the nostrils are the East.
And the Tongue is the West, and the Ear is the North.
Jerusalem Plate 12 William Blake
Here, Urizen kneels before a creation. Maybe one of the son of His own celestial feminine emanation Ahania: fire or Fuzon.
We could suppose here, he’s in prayer. But, only Los is known to be the Zoas who keeps the vision of Albion’s; staying in communication with the Divine, through the spirit.
So Urizen is maybe here using tools we couldn’t see, regards to our position, face to Los; heart’s beats.
He’s the representative body of reason, law, architecture. Maybe God of the Old testament. The wise man creator from “Chaos”.
Usually depicting Him as a bearded old man, Will tales us he’s got symbolically his head hidden in Albion, by bowing it down. Or in Urthona? Since, Albion, what was before the light and dark principles had to be created.
“We fell. I seiz’d thee, dark Urthona. In my left hand falling. I seiz’d thee, beauteous Luvah, thou are faded like a flower…. Then thou didst keep with Strong Urthona the living gates of heaven but now thou art bow’d down with him, even to the gates of hell. ” William Blake.
Though he’s dressed in white, his reason seems to be dependent. The drawing is yet balanced, and feminine by many symbols. The green under His feet, the clothes, picted as petals, the rose, equity in red and white, as if a compassion was born from his feminine part, towards the creation of The Sun.
If he had been Antichrist, Creeping Jesus,
He’d have done anything to please us:
Gone sneaking into the Synagogues
And not used the Elders & Priests like Dogs,
But humble as a Lamb or an Ass,
Obey himself to Caiaphas.
God wants not man to humble himself
The Everlasting Gospel, Blake
Also, Urizen could emprison man’s reason for conventionalism, and fear of opening ourselves to Luvah spirit of love, who Urizen is supposed to enclose. Urizen brakes the saviour, making him suffer.
Knowing as enslaving himself in dogmas, Urizen could cut Himself from the Divine. In His fall, Los and His feminine emanation musical Enitharmon created a space for Freedom. So here, it seems we’re face to a sun (Los/Sol), symbolizes “revolution”, that blinds the other sons of Albion.
Reading from Blake last night and then, I was conduced to G. of Mounmouth. And that’s true William Blake should know a peculiar practice of drawing. Maybe using linen, whose chevrons are led to reveal prophecies. Why the sunlight is an entire world. Purely magical by the way, it could represent lands in particularly. Maybe England and Africa. But I’m not sure at all.
Thanks for the journey: I didn’t know so much about him, and discover so how William Blake could have been my man.
Whenever we need
to make a very important decision,
it is best to trust to impulse, to passion,
because reason usually tries to
remove us from our dream,
saying that the time is not yet right.
Reason is afraid of defeat,
but intuition enjoys life and its challenges
~ Acceptance speech delivered to the Brazilian academy of letters ~ Paulo Coelho.
How…naked we are in the eyes of God. Everything, our virtues, our sins, our soul, our heart out in the open. Nothing can hide. At the end when all is revealed, we kneel before Him/Her…naked.
And…those whose soul is dark, will stay alone, forever banned from the light of God, forever alone. Forbidden to enter. Defeated.
love
Agnieszka
nibiru is coming… or?
Nia
*stilllaughingtheholetime*
A beautiful prayer for healing cancer. Thank you.
We just lose when we do not fight.
Defeat is a response to a step in the way, and that can
lead to real victory…
Never give up…
Beautiful defeat.
Sometimes in the defeat lies the Victory…
Sconfitta, the defeat….?? So much despair..William Blake the dreamer.. LOVE, THELMA