Brush and ink with wax resist and watercolour, 14 by 18 cm

Piper’s 1948 designs for Job were closely based on William Blake’s 1825 Illustrations to the Book of Job. They are evidence of Piper’s own links with British Neo-Romanticism, which was strongly influenced by the great Blake disciple Samuel Palmer as well as Blake himself. They were made for a theatrical work that was devised by Geoffrey Keynes (a Blake scholar) with music by Ralph Vaughan Williams and choreography by Ninette de Valois. The composer was adamant that the work should not be called a ballet and so it became known as a Masque for Dancing. This backdrop design represents Hell and relates to a similar work in the Victoria and Albert Museum (acc.S.1944-1986). It is based on Blake’s 11^th engraving in the 1825 work (‘With Dreams upon my bed thou dearest and affrightest me with Visions'). A reviewer for The Times later said of Piper’s designs for the production that “colours glow with Blake's inner fire.”