The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

The five wise virgins stand with their lamps trimmed and burning while the five foolish ones, their lamps gone out, plead in vain as the bridegroom arrives (Matthew 25). William Blake renders the parable in delicate watercolor and flowing, rhythmic line, the figures swaying in his unmistakable visionary style, an avenging angel above. Now at the Yale Center for British Art, it shows Blake the illustrator of scripture - the biblical warning to stay ready turned into a graceful, otherworldly design where every gesture and contour pulses with his private spiritual energy.