Nebuchadnezzar
1795
Imagine a king so arrogant that God turns him into a literal beast—that’s the story William Blake is telling here. This is Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian ruler from the Bible who was cursed to live on all fours for seven years, eating grass like an ox. Blake, a key figure in Romanticism, captures the moment of his madness perfectly: the muscles are bulging, the hair is wild and matted, and those fingernails have turned into terrifying claws. It’s a gruesome but fascinating look at divine punishment, showing Blake’s obsession with the human body pushed to its absolute limits.
Location: Tate Britain
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