The Angel Appearing to Zacharias, 1799?1800, Pen and black ink, tempera, and glue size on canvas, 10 1/2 x 15 in. (26. 7 x 38. 1 cm), Paintings, William Blake (British, London 1757?1827 London), Blake devoted much of the year 1799?1800 to fifty visionary scenes drawn from the Bible, a commission he received from his principal patron, the government clerk Thomas Butts. About thirty of these works have been identified; it is thought that some have not survived owing to the fragility of the materials