William Blake
The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins
From $100
This painting is swirling washes of rose, blue and gold on paper, and a cheap copy turns the delicate washes flat. Our Blake Beatrice Addressing Dante print is made from a museum-quality scan, unretouched, so every wash and pen line stays delicate.
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
18x12 inch, 24x16 inch, 30x20 inch, 36x24 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
Its wide shape suits a living room, a study or the wall above a sofa. The roses, blues and golds look rich with cream, charcoal and walnut, and a natural wood or white frame suits it.
About the painting
William Blake, a hosier’s son from Soho, trained as an engraver and became a poet and painter of visions. Barely recognised in his lifetime, he is now one of the great figures of the Romantic age.
From 1824 Blake painted Dante’s Divine Comedy for his young patron John Linnell. He was still working on the series on the day he died in 1827, and many sheets were left unfinished.
Here, in Purgatory, Beatrice speaks to Dante from a chariot drawn by a griffin, inside a whirling wheel of colour. The Linnell family kept the drawings until 1918; the Tate bought this one in 1919.
A chariot of light, drawn by a griffin, half eagle and half lion. Standing in it, veiled, is Beatrice. Around her, the whole scene swirls: figures in pink and green, great turning wheels and wings, like a dream in watercolour.
William Blake was born in London in 1757, the son of a hosier. He barely went to school. He trained as an engraver, wrote poems, printed his own illustrated books, and said he saw visions all his life. In his lifetime almost nobody understood him.
When he was in his late sixties and still poor, a young painter named John Linnell asked him to illustrate Dante's Divine Comedy, the journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise.
This is a moment from Purgatory, when Dante meets Beatrice, the woman he loved, who will guide him into Heaven.
Blake worked on the Dante pictures until the very day he died, in August 1827. Many were left unfinished, like parts of this one.
The Linnell family kept them for almost a century. In 1919 the Tate in London bought this sheet.
Beatrice Addressing Dante from the Car. William Blake.
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
From Decorify Art Stories
The story of the artist behind this print, told in one sitting.
Premieres Wednesday, November 4 · 2:00 PM ET
Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.