The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun (Rev. 12: 1-4)

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun at the Brooklyn Museum is another version of this apocalyptic subject that Blake created as part of his Revelation series. The terrifying grandeur of the dragon figure, with its massive bat wings and muscular form, has become one of the most recognizable images in Blake's oeuvre. Characteristic of the artist's mature approach, the work displays linear, flame-like figures combining Michelangelesque anatomy with Gothic energy, vivid color in his illuminated books, personal mythological imagery of Albion, Los, Urizen, and the Eternals.

Blake's powerful draftsmanship creates a figure of overwhelming physical presence, the anatomical detail rendered with precision while the cosmic setting is suggested through luminous watercolor effects.