File:William Blake The Ghost of Flea 1819-20 Tempera & gold on mahogany.jpg

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Summary

Author
William Blake  (1757–1827)  wikidata:Q41513 s:en:Author:William Blake q:en:William Blake
 
William Blake
Alternative names
W. Blake; Uil'iam Bleik; Blake
Description English-British painter, poet, theologian, collector, printmaker and illustrator
Date of birth/death 28 November 1757 Edit this at Wikidata 12 August 1827 Edit this at Wikidata
Location of birth/death London London
Work location
London; Felpham Edit this at Wikidata
Authority file
creator QS:P170,Q41513
Object type painting
object_type QS:P31,Q3305213
Description
English: William Blake The Ghost of a Flea 1819-20 Tempera & gold on mahogany

John Varley – an artist, astrologer and close friend of Blake – reported in his Treatise on Zodiacal Physiognomy (1828) that Blake once had a spiritual vision of a ghost of a flea and that ‘This spirit visited his imagination in such a figure as he never anticipated in an insect.’ While drawing the spirit it told the artist that all fleas were inhabited by the souls of men who were ‘by nature bloodthirsty to excess’. In the painting it holds a cup for blood-drinking and stares eagerly towards it. Blake’s amalgamation of man and beast suggests a human character marred by animalistic traits.

William Blake (1757‑1827)

The Ghost of a Flea

c.1819-20

Tempera and gold on mahogany

214 x 162 mm frame: 382 x 324 x 50 mm

Tate

Bequeathed by W. Graham Robertson 1949

Reference

N05889
Date 14 June 2013, 12:09:19
Source/Photographer http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-the-ghost-of-a-flea-n05889 and other

Licensing

This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
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The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".
This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.

Captions

The Ghost of a Flea (c. 1819-1820). Tempera mixture with gold, on a mahogany-type tropical hardwood panel, 21.4 x 16.0 cm (8.4 x 6.3 in). Tate Gallery, London

Items portrayed in this file

depicts

The Ghost of a Flea

media type

image/jpeg

File history

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Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current11:11, 14 June 2013Thumbnail for version as of 11:11, 14 June 20131,162 × 1,536 (506 KB)DmitrismirnovUser created page with UploadWizard
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