William Blake: The spiritual form of Nelson guiding Leviathan, in whose wreathings are infolded the Nations of the Earth (in which the monster is a symbol of military sea-power controlled by Nelson)
c. 1805-9
Tempera on canvas 30″ x 24″
(76.2 x 62.5cm), Tate Britain, London
Provenance and history on Tate.org

Art of William Blake: Behemoth and Leviathan; 1825
from Illustrations to ‘The Book of Job’

Behemoth, who dominates the land, as ‘the chief of the Ways of God.’ Leviathan, a Sea Monster, is ‘King over all the Children of Pride.’ In his book Jerusalem, Blake has these two monsters representatives of war by land and by sea. (source)

“Destruction of Leviathan” an 1865 engraving by Gustave Doré for Paradise Lost

Leviathan is a mythical sea creature that appears in the Bible, emblematic of awesome strength. It’s described as the meanest and the biggest creature in the sea and a humbler of the Proud. Leviathan as a dragon who lives over the Sources of the Deep and who will be served up to the righteous at the end of time.

Maritime Monday for January 30, 2012; This is Leviathan

Sharkskin + silver metalware (anon.) Bible 1775

bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2010/02/beautiful-bookbinding.html