The Christ Child Asleep on the Cross (Our Lady Adoring the Infant Jesus Asleep on the Cross)

The Christ Child Asleep on the Cross from 1800, at the Victoria and Albert Museum, depicts the infant Jesus lying on a cross in a foreshadowing of his Passion — a devotional image type known from medieval and Baroque art that Blake reinterpreted through his own symbolic vision. The subject, in which the sleeping child's pose anticipates the crucified adult, presents the Incarnation and Redemption as a single unified event. Blake created this work using his distinctive tempera technique combined with his personal mythological vision that placed him outside the mainstream of British art while anticipating later Symbolist movements. The tender devotional image contrasts with Blake's more apocalyptic subjects, showing his range across the full spectrum from intimate piety to cosmic vision. The Victoria and Albert Museum's holding connects this tempera to the tradition of British decorative and applied arts alongside which Blake's unique work is best understood — as the product of an artist trained as an engraver who brought craft precision to the most exalted visionary ambitions.

Oil on canvas, the portrait demonstrates William Blake's command of skilled technique and careful observation. The careful modeling of the face reveals close study of the sitter's physiognomy, while the treatment of costume and setting projects appropriate social standing.