Nicholas Otte

English 210

March 19th 2023

Innocence and Experience: The exhibition

“Angel of the Revelation (Book of Revelation Chapter 10)” by William Blake, a piece that was made for Thomas Butts that came from the series “Eighty Biblical Watercolors,” The inspiration for this piece is the author of the “Book of Revelations,” John the Apostle, and the vision that he had from the first line in chapter 10. “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:”

This painting depicts a man who personifies the 7 Horsemen. He has one foot that is set on land and the other set on the sea, which stand like pillars with fire coming from them. A rainbow appeared above his head, and his face was bright like the sun. In his hand, he held a little scroll open. He placed his right foot on the sea and his left foot on land. He thanked God with a loud and fierce voice, and a response had come from the seven thunders from heaven. He thanked God and said, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”  Anabel, who appeared on land, raised his hand to the heavens and swore by the life of God that there would no longer be delay. When the trumpets call, the mystery of God will be fulfilled.

With all the history that is going on within the painting i saw something completely different than its representation. I walked into the exhibit and there were so many people just walking past the painting which made me wonder why. I stood there and at first i just admired the material of the painting and  I saw the angel at the bottom of the painting drawing the god she loved and idolized in all his glory and power. She used the light colors to capture his warmth and youthful glow and the darker ones that probably signify the bad that comes with all the power that god holds. The angel, which takes the form of a woman, is in a what seemed to be a think sheet of silk to drape over her soft skin and she sits on the cliff side next to a stump to get the perfect view of where her savior protects both land and sea and the life that lives within both. This painting reminded me of my mother. I sat and saw how my mother was being wrongfully treated for year and years on end with little to no hope for freedome from the constant depression she was put through but than my mom than found herself through her love for god and the power her holds to help her and bless her. My mothers savior is god and i am forever grateful that my mother was able to pull herself from out of herr darkness and become this new version of herself. the black/grey paint represented in the sky or behind the god like figure was symbolism for my moms struggle to stay on the path to god and her fight for her freedom but the closer it got to the figure hte brighter it got and eventually my mother found the light and now idolizes god and trusts him with all her might.

 In the museum it felt like time stopped, the air was still, and it had become dead silent. Every bit of my memory was clearer than the one before it. The more i focused on the painting that was right in front of me, the less i noticed of my surroundings. It felt as is i fell in deep to the strokes and colors . 7 years worth of my life had played over and over in my head and for the first time since those 7 years, i felt like i had finally moved on. The fear, the agony, the mental pain, all of it was washing away and i felt relieved to have seen my mom find peace which meant we’d also have peace again. Our lives would return to the way that it once was. This painting is a painting that i will always be reminded of when i look at my mom. Museums are the one place that i will always treasure for as long as possible. They are my escape from the world that i constantly have to live in. In a museum with all its art and beauty, i am allowed to just perceive and be in my thoughts with no remorse or guilt in the way i feel. When i’m alone, with my notebook and pen, staring at my muse, its as nothing else ever mattered and i wouldn’t have it any other way.