William Blake was an English poet, painter and printmaker, born in London in 1757 and died there in 1827. He was misunderstood and unappreciated in his own time, but over the centuries has been recognized as an important figure in the development of poetry and visual arts. According to Wikipedia Jonathan Jones of England's The Guardian proclaimed him, "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced." Well, I dunno about that, but he certainly had a distinct style not only in art and poetry, but in his perceptions of life, and I have always admired those who march to the beat of their own drum.
Though Blake was a "committed Christian," he had his own brand of Christian beliefs, viewing organized religions with disdain. His poetry and artworks seem almost a blend of Gnosticism, traditional Christianity and Paganism, but that is just my personal opinion, and I admit I have not studied his works enough to be fully informed. The Book of Urizen was one of the first of his "prophetic" books, also a parody or mythological rendering of Genesis and one of his numerous "illuminated" books. In addition to illustrating his original works, he also illustrated the works of other authors, including his famous artwork for Dante's Divine Comedy, The Book of Job, Milton's Paradise Lost and John Bunyon's The Pilgrim's Progress. Many of his works are religious in nature, or a mix of mythology and more traditional religion. Eclectic would probably be a good word to describe him.
Blake also had strong and unconventional ideas toward marriage, and supported sexual and racial equality. He abhored slavery. Below is an illustration to J.D. Stedman's Narrative, of a Five Years' Expedition, against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam (1796) entitled "A Negro Hung Alive by the Ribs to a Gallows."
And as for his artistic style, that too is unique. I easily found his works scattered throughout the "Heaven and Hell" CD-ROM, just by flipping through the pages. His characters have a willowy, rubbery, almost boneless quality and his colors often subtle or muted. He used the process of "relief etching" on copper to print his books, but then hand-colored the printed pages, making each copy unique. He also used the process of "intaglio engraving," which was an even more laborious process.
To provide even just a smattering of facts about this important pioneer in poetry and art would take up way too much space on this index page. What I have provided will hopefully inspire you to explore Blake's works more fully, and you can expect much more to come on this site related to him. The Wikipedia page linked above is a very long and informative article on Blake and his works, which is all quite interesting. In addition, Dover Publications carries at least two, very long books about this fascinating man, and numerous collections of his art. I hope you enjoy these images and poetry. Please note: more images may be found on the individual book review pages.
