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Satan Calling Up his Legions
StyleRomanticism
Artwork Details
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William Blake produced this dramatic interpretation of Milton's Paradise Lost around 1800-1809, showing Satan standing on a rock backed by flames as he rallies his fallen angels. Below him sits Beelzebub, with other figures floating amid the infernal fire.
Blake based the nude figures on classical sculpture and Michelangelo's drawings, representing Satan and his followers as beautiful despite their corruption. The work uses tempera with gold leaf, creating a luminous effect. Blake painted multiple versions of this scene; this tempera version is now at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Another version resides at Petworth House in Sussex.
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About Satan Calling Up his Legions
This tempera version is displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Blake created multiple versions of this scene; another is at Petworth House in Sussex.
Blake illustrated John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, depicting the moment when Satan "stood and called His legions" after falling from Heaven. Beelzebub, who "none higher sat," appears beneath the central figure.
Blake painted this using tempera on canvas over gold leaf, an experimental technique combining water-soluble pigments with precious metal. The gold base creates luminous effects, possibly symbolizing fallen divine light.
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