An old priest in a tall headdress and blue robe, holding a censer.
Bible in art · Luke
The Angel Appearing to Zacharias
William Blake · 1799–1800
The Met, New York
One of the small Bible pictures William Blake painted in 1799–1800 for his patron Thomas Butts. Blake called this kind of work «fresco», though it is tempera with glue on canvas; the paint has darkened and cracked with age.
The old priest, censer in hand, turns towards the angel who stands beside the altar of incense, one hand raised. Smoke billows up from the altar.
From the text
- Chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple (Luke 1:9)
- The angel “standing at the right side of the altar of incense” (Luke 1:11)
- “Do not be afraid, Zechariah” (Luke 1:13)
The artist’s own
- Zechariah dressed like a high priest, with headdress and breastplate
- A golden seven-branched lampstand at the left
Details
Zechariah
The altar of incense
Flames burn on a small altar; smoke rolls upward.
The angel
A tall winged figure stands beside the altar, one hand raised.
The lampstand
A golden seven-branched lampstand with lit candles.
William Blake, British, 1757–1827. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Bequest of William Church Osborn, 1951; acc. 51.30.1) · Pen and black ink, tempera, and glue size on canvas · Public Domain — The Met Open Access (CC0). The Met Collection API record: "isPublicDomain": true; The Met marks such works on its website "with the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) icon".