Literary and Poetic
Paradise Lost. B. 7. L. 535.
Method Stipple engraving
Artist Thomas Kirk after Richard Westall
Published Publish'd June 4. 1795, by J.&J. Boydell, & G. Nicol, Shakspeare Gallery, Pall Mall; & No. 90, Cheapside.
Notes An illustration of Book 7, Line 535 of Milton's Paradise Lost, from John and Josiah Boydell's The Poetical Works of John Milton (1794-1797). Raphael, having come down to Eden at the behest of God, explains to Adam and Eve the reason for their creation, having finished his retelling of the War in Heaven. The inclusion of the bough of the fig-tree above Raphael's head is a suggestive nod to the impending disgrace of mankind.
The publication of Boydell's Milton followed the success of his Shakespeare Gallery, and included 28 plates by Richard Westall after works by Henry Fuseli. Fuseli, one of the Shakespeare Gallery's key contributors, had been inspired by Boydell's success, subsequently painting 40 large-scale scenes from Paradise Lost that he intended to form the core of his own 'Milton Gallery'.
Richard Westall RA (2nd January 1765 - 4th December 1836) was a British painter, illustrator, printmaker, and drawing master, best known for his portraits of Lord Byron, and his work as a painter for John Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery, and Henry Fuseli's failed Milton Gallery.
Thomas Kirk (1765-1797) was a British artist, illustrator, and engraver most famous for his engravings after Angelica Kauffman, Robert Westall, and Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Ex. Col.: Hon. Christopher Lennox-Boyd, collector's mark on verso.