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我本來對文學的涉獵就不深，西方詩作更是敬而遠之。我讀過的詩人屈指可數：里爾克、艾略特、波德萊爾、和下文介紹的布雷克。前三位鼎鼎大名，哲學、社會學、和文學評論書本上不時會引用他們的文風、手法、和思想；這是我讀他們作品的動因。
我讀布雷克的詩則是因為：40多年前在一間書店中不經意看到他的畫集，引起我的興趣；才知道他還是一位大詩人。後來才知道；文學史上布雷克也佔有一席之地。看到下文標題和插畫，自然勾起我的回憶；順便介紹一下。
全文關於畫作部份的論述是該作者的「詮釋」(想像、聯想、感受、附會、？？？等等)，自不待言。
‘Nebuchadnezzar’— William Blake
The biblical myth of the Babylonian king was captured in this painting, which contains several subtle but sophisticated narrative layers
Alejandro Orradre, 03/01/26
‘Nebuchadnezzar’ (c.1805) by William Blake. Colour print, ink and watercolour on paper. Tate Gallery of London. Image source Wikipedia 樂拔克勒撒四肢伏地水彩畫像 1 全景
William Blake’s art is as genuine as it is mesmerizing.
With a style that travels between fantastic visions and deep symbolism, his work focused on illustrating poetic compositions (Milton’s Paradise Lost, for example) from his most symbolic, the most deepest point of view.
To approach his writing requires a great exercise of imagination because what Blake tries to transmit is not the themes of the poems he adapted but the sensations they provoked. His style could be considered a precursor of comics or graphic novels. It is a beautiful use of colors and
shapes, in the same way that the modeling of human figures makes up a very easily recognizable technique. Several studies have been made on this way of proceeding, and most experts agree that Michelangelo’s style partly inspires it.
A great example is Nebuchadnezzar (樂拔克勒撒二世), painted around 1805. It summarizes part of the peculiarity of the English painter.
The writing shows a specific moment in the biblical history of King Nebuchadnezzar II, ruler of Babylon, between 604 and 562 BC.
What the Bible narrates is the fall of the king because of pride: dominated by this feeling, he belittled God, rejoicing in his greatness as Babylonian king and taking credit for creating his kingdom. The monarch considered himself a god, above good and evil. No one and nothing could overshadow him, and he never tired of proclaiming it everywhere.
As expected, God was enraged and cursed Nebuchadnezzar. He cursed him and turned him into a terrible monster.
The painting shows the moment when Nebuchadnezzar II begins to transform into that beast. Blake focuses the attention of the artwork on the figure of the monarch, which stands out in clarity above a somewhat diffuse background from which we can only guess what looks like the entrance of a cave.
All attention is focused on the king. His body on all fours is large, attracting attention because it almost goes out of the margins of the painting. The only foot that is shown seems to want to break through the canvas and leave the composition, which becomes the engine of the narrative of the painting through three different points: face, limbs, and the arched center of his body.
The background (unimportant) and the front figure (the vital part of the painting). 樂拔克勒撒四肢伏地水彩畫像 2 背景並標示出人像全身
With attention already fixed on the figure, Blake uses three different points to explain what he wants to communicate with his painting. They are areas where all the meaning of the painting converges. Although they can be considered independent elements (since they have different meanings), they are intimately linked, and others even explain some.
There is a first general impression of the picture, but focusing on the three points can deepen this sensation.
Nebuchadnezzar, then, becomes the driving force of the narrative. Specifically, certain parts of him do so: his face, limbs, and the arched center of his body.
The three elements explain the painting: the face, the claws, and the figuration of an entrance. 樂拔克勒撒四肢伏地水彩畫像 3 標示出臉、爪、與(山洞)入口形勢
The face of the Babylonian king is one of the specific narrative points of the painting. It is, in fact, the most important because it expresses with extreme clarity the horror that Nebuchadnezzar suffers when he realizes his transformation. His gaze is directed to his hands, while his mouth is drawn in a grimace that a horrifying scream could well accompany.
The long beard that falls to the ground, getting dirty and blending in with it, also helps to enhance the drama of the face: each element that makes up the face is harmoniously tensional.
There is a mixture of terror and a spark of regret for the arrogance that led to his fatal fate. Nebuchadnezzar realizes his grave behavior as he assumes the unpleasant certainty of suffering a deserved punishment.
Blake accumulates the moral (意旨) of the biblical narrative in that face that clearly reflects the worst dynamics of human behavior.
Detail of ‘Nebuchadnezzar’ (c.1805) by William Blake. Colour print, ink and watercolour on paper. Tate Gallery of London. Image source Wikipedia 樂拔克勒撒四肢伏地水彩畫像 4 臉部表情特寫
The second narrative point of Nebuchadnezzar is the hands and feet. Blake draws upon the moment the nails are lengthening because the Babylonian king has begun to transform into a monster, as God has condemned him.
The position of the feet hints that they will end up as perhaps canid-like paws, while the fingers of the hands are lengthening. As they are placed on the sides of the painting, they have a specific dependence and develop their primary function, which is none other than to show the subject of the picture clearly.
The claws explain which specific passage of Nebuchadnezzar’s story is captured in the painting, something that did not happen with the face but that, combined with this second narrative point, acquires all the sense.
Detail of Nebuchadnezzar (c.1805) by William Blake. Colour print, ink and watercolour on paper. Tate Gallery of London. Image source Wikipedia 樂拔克勒撒四肢伏地水彩畫像 5 標示出(畫像前方)手指和腳趾的指甲
The third narrative point is perhaps the most difficult to interpret and cryptic in the painting: the imaginary door that generates Nebuchadnezzar’s torso (軀幹；此處指腿部和臂部) next to the thighs and forearms. The forearm and thigh in the foreground are very straight, as if they were jambs, and although the other two are ‘inside’ that frame, they are overshadowed and in the background.
A spatial coincidence gives rise to this interpretation: if we imagine that the body of the monarch looks like the frame of a door, it would be located right at the entrance of the cave that is intuited in the background.
Detail of Nebuchadnezzar (c.1805) by William Blake. Colour print, ink and watercolour on paper. Tate Gallery of London. Image source Wikipedia 樂拔克勒撒四肢伏地水彩畫像 6 標示出(畫像後方)下臂和大腿
That entrance would mark that Nebuchadnezzar is about to enter a period of suffering since that door appears next to hands, feet, and the horrified face of the protagonist.
The magnetism created by this narrative point contrasts the king’s body, which is much brighter and is at the compositional center of the painting. Its presence makes the cave (which is in that diffuse background) suddenly acquire importance as a metaphor for the future that awaits the Babylonian monarch.
A door leads to the cave of despair, repentance, and the most profound horror.
How does the myth of Nebuchadnezzar II end?
After seven long years away from Babylon in the form of a monster, he ended up admitting the greatness of God and his superiority. As a sign of forgiveness, he was returned to his human form and regained the kingdom’s throne.
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Written by Alejandro Orradre
Graduating in Art History and History | Also on Subtack writing about Tolkien. https://medium.com/@alejandro.orradre/membership
Published in Counter Arts
The (Counter)Cultural One-Stop for Nonfiction on Medium… incorporating categories for: ‘Art’, ‘Culture’, ‘Equality’, ‘Photography’, ‘Film’, ‘Mental Health’, ‘Music’ and ‘Literature’.
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