illustration research - William Blake

William Blake was born in London in 1757. A poet, painter and somewhat of a philosopher, he is well known for his books of poems, which he illustrated himself.  He believed the imagination to be the most important element of human existence. 

Songs of Innocence - was first published in 1789 and was composed and printed the pages himself. Adding the text and image together showed how much he believed that both together, gave more impact of the intimate relationship the they shared to expressing the whole. 



Coloured etching below, the reason I like these images below are simple, the style of romanticism and  feeling that coincides with what visionary religious beliefs Blake had really do come across. As an illustration I think each artist should have his own style of sense of what makes him tick.  It was said that Blake opposed the Newtonian view of the universe and I like how this theme may come across in other works I look into. 

  

Blake's poems of this period are of interest to me. I decided to look at a poem before viewing Blake's illustration.

The Clod and the Pebble

‘Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair.’

So sung a little Clod of Clay
Trodden with the cattle’s feet,
But a Pebble of the brook
Warbled out these metres meet:

‘Love seeketh only self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in another’s loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heaven’s despite.’

 The Clod and the Pebble are a binary pair: selfless/selfish, giving/taking, heaven/hell. 

Firstly, I was surprised to see the image of animals, a pond and frogs etc. A poem about clay and a stone regarding love I thought would be more obvious to the reader. I do like the complex less obvious images when thinking of the philosophical senses and imagination.

  

The way I feel I can relate to the work of Blake, is in the fact that the story and imagery isn't just about art. It the journey and the inlining meaning, the questions and selfness he brings in his work. The visuals above are soft and dream like (childlike), but if you look at the other etching Blake's done you can see a difference in his approach.



Nebuchadnezzar - these images consist of colour print, ink and watercolour.
This work I like because it has been continued from one book to another. While totally different detail and narrative exists.

first

followed on example

The story is of the king Nebuchadnezzar who lost his mind and was reduced to animalistic madness.

A series of prints I also enjoy are below. 

These images seem soft still but with greater detail that the ones in the poems/book I talked about before.

The book of Job - these engraving had me interested not just because of the detail and style but the stories and philosophy etc behind them. 

   

So as you can see the style of Blake is somewhat varied but I can see similar details in the bodies and torso's of the figures in all the prints. I do think this style is a great personal characteristic to have. 

William Blake famously declared: “I must create a system or be enslaved by another man’s.”

I want to continue with my findings on William Blake but for now I must not get carried away at this stage.