Currently not on view
Angels Guiding a Soul to Heaven,
ca. 1787–94
John Flaxman, 1755–1826; born York, England; died London, England
2007-15
The first internationally renowned British sculptor, Flaxman also designed ceramics for Josiah Wedgwood and illustrations for works by Dante, Homer, and Aeschylus. Like his friend and contemporary William Blake, Flaxman became interested in the writings of the visionary Swedish theologian Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1771) and made a number of highly finished drawings, such as this one, based on Swedenborgian subjects. An essential concept in Swedenborg’s symbolic interpretation of the Bible is that all beings in the spiritual world retain their human forms after death. According to Swedenborg, once the awakened spirit has made the transition from earthly to eternal life, the soul is welcomed into heaven by angels who provide the benefit of celestial light.
More About This Object
Information
Title
Angels Guiding a Soul to Heaven
Dates
ca. 1787–94
Maker
Medium
Pen and grey ink and grey wash
Dimensions
sheet: 50.3 x 72.9 cm (19 13/16 x 28 11/16 in.)
mount: 52.8 x 75.5 cm (20 13/16 x 29 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Surdna Fund
Object Number
2007-15
Culture
Type
Materials
Subject
William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851-1925);
November 1946, P. & D. Colnaghi, London;
James Byam Shaw, London, thence by descent;
June 5, 2006, sale Christie's, London, lot 6;
W. M. Brady & Co., New York;
Purchased by Princeton University Art Museum
- British art on paper: Christies, London, Monday 5 June 2006, (London: Christie's, 2006). , lot 6
- Master drawings, oil sketches, and sculpture, 1700-1900: January 23 to February 15, 2007, (New York: W.M. Brady & Co., 2007). , no. 11 (illus.)
-
"Acquisitions of the Princeton University Art Museum 2007," in "More than one: photographs in sequence," special issue, Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 67 (2008): p. 96-119.
, p. 111
