Elijah at the mouth of the cave

This drawing, with its flat, schematic design, clearly derives its composition from the model of Blake. It is one of a number of Biblical illustrations Richmond produced during 1827 and 1828. The reference is to I, Kings, chpt. IX, vv. 12-13, in which Elijah, after forty nights in the wilderness, takes shelter in a cave: 'a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle.'