text: a vision of the last judgment a vision of the last judgment is a painting by william blake that was designed in 1808 before becoming a lost artwork . the painting was to be shown in an 1810 exhibition with a detailed analysis added to a second edition of his descriptive catalogue . this plan was dropped after the exhibition was cancelled , and the painting disappeared . blake 's notes for the descriptive catalogue describe various aspects of the work in a detailed manner , which allow the aspects of the painting to be known . additionally , earlier designs that reveal similar blake depiction of the last judgment have survived , and these date back to an 1805 precursor design created for robert blair 's the grave . in addition to blake 's notes on the painting , a letter written to humphrey provides a description of the various images within an earlier design of the last judgment . origins blake claimed to have seen visions throughout his life , and he claimed that they were a common aspect of life . his understanding of these events was , as he explained , similar to the experiences of biblical prophets . in the commentary to a vision of the last judgment , blake claimed that the image originated in a particular vision he experienced that allowed him to see the host of heaven praising god . the actual design of a vision of the last judgment was created in 1808 as an expansion of his 1805 work the day of judgment . blake created this work to be used in blair 's the grave , which was published 1808 . the seven foot by five foot painting was to be shown in an 1810 exhibit of blake 's work , but the exhibit was cancelled after problems resulting from an 1809 exhibit of his works . the actual painting was lost , but earlier versions of the work survived . these include an 1808 watercolour version made for elizabeth , wife of george wyndham , 3rd earl of egremont , that was displayed at their petworth house . a similar illustration in pencil and ink became part of the rosenwald collection . other editions included watercolours made for thomas butts in 1806 , 1807 , and 1809 , one for john flaxman in 1806 ( lost ) , and an 1809 unsold version in tempera . these are in addition to the day of judgment made for blair 's the grave . the painting was to be discussed in blake 's descriptive catalogue , a work that , in 1809 , described blake 's feelings about various painters and poets in addition to descriptions of his own works and their various meanings . blake planned to create another edition for the 1810 collection but the plan was stopped after the exhibition was cancelled . notes for what blake planned to write for the works a vision of the last judgment and public address survived . the notes were discovered by william michael rossetti and first mentioned in a letter to horace scudder on 27 november 1864 . rossetti transcribed the notes for alexander gilchrist 's the life of william blake , an early biography on blake . one piece of the work was missing : part of page 71 was sent by rossetti to scudder . blake discussed the 1808 watercolour sold to ilives in two works , a poem , " the caverns of the grave ive seen " , written for ilives provided by blake with her and a description of ilives 's design for humphry in january 1808 . painting the description provided by blake to humphrey explains that the work depicts the resurrection . the top of the work depicts christ on the throne of judgment with heaven opened up across the painting . behind christ are the heads of infants which represent creation coming from jesus . christ is surrounded by the four and seven angels that have vials filled with god 's wrath . an image of a tabernacle with a cross inside is depicted above christ . an image of baptism is to christ 's right and the last supper is to christ 's left with both representing eternal life . further to christ 's right is the resurrection of the just and to the left is the resurrection and subsequent fall of the wicked . adam and eve are below christ , and abraham and moses are nearby . below moses is satan wrapped by the serpent and in the centre is the book of death . at the top is the book of life , and the christian church is the figure of a woman on top of the moon . blake , in his notes to a vision of the last judgment , describes how his design is to work : " if the spectator could enter into these images in his imagination approaching them on the fiery chariot of his thought [ ... ] then would he arise from his grave " . he relies on the word representation frequently in the work , and he tries to represent action in a visible manner that distances his depiction of the apocalypse from a traditional version that disguises the various components of an apocalyptic vision . to blake , he must create an image of the last judgment , then represent the image , and then describe with a written gloss of the work . this creates a layer of representation that separates the audience from the apocalyptic experience , which undermines the concept of apocalypse as both mysterious and directly experienced . in discussing the nature of time , blake wrote in his notes : " the greeks represented chronos or time as a very aged man ; this is fable , but the real vision of time is in eternal youth . i have , however , somewhat accommodated my figure of time to the common opinion , as i myself am also infected with it & my visions also infected , as i see time aged , alas , too much so . " themes blake based his portrayal of the apocalypse on his belief that god 's love allowed for a personal apocalypse as part of the human experience . in the notes to the work , he claimed that " whenever any individual rejects error & embraces truth a last judgment passes upon that individual " . this idea is connected to views of david hartley of the " pure disinterested love of god " , and appears in other works by blake , including his jerusalem . also , blake 's milton describes the process that an individual goes through during an apocalypse , which includes having to confront their errors and their flaws . there is no peace during the struggle , as it involves a direct interaction between contrary views that would eventually establish the new state . on the details in the painting , blake claimed that each component had a specific meaning that provides an allegory - like dimension to the work . blake dismissed the idea of using allegory within his works except , as he wrote in a letter to butts , 6 july 1803 , " allegory address 'd to the intellectual powers , while it is altogether hidden from the understanding , is my definition of the most sublime poetry " . blake 's philosophical interpretation of time is similar to samuel taylor coleridge 's depiction of the relationship between time and the state of limbo within his poem " limbo " . both claim that their understanding of time is connected to the common , contemporary view , but they alter their perspective of time within their works to that of an older person . the figure of time appears in other works by blake , including as the figure los and in the illustration blake made for edward young 's night thoughts .