British Art-William Blake

Though William Blake is held today as star of the premier poets of the pre-Ro valettic era, his contributions as a lynx is very muchtimes overlooked. Like his poesy, his images and etchings reflect his deeply held sacred beliefs, as rise as the legion(predicate) questions he had not only about faith but the nature of existence. Reflecting a sensibility that was unusual by the standards of the day, Blakes choice of subject matter for his paintings ran from traditional scriptural scenes to gothic depictions of ghouls and creatures from Hell sent to bewitch and torment humanity.His illuminated printing also helped create significant depth in his poetry, adding to the impact of the words, and often reflected the same biblical concerns and reverences that Blake held for his Christian beliefs. Combining the gothic with a proto-Romantic sensibility, William Blake created artwork that not only reflected his apparitional beliefs, but also borrowed from biblical, literary, mystica l, and personal inspirations to create unique art that remains as compelling as his poetry and speaks volumes of the creative genius of the man.Though many in the modern day consider William Blake one of the creative poets of the early Romantic period, Blake he did not support himself as a poet during his life but got by on patronage and commissions for engraving and painting. His projects were most often literary and unearthly in nature and include the Book of Job and other scenes from the news Chaucers Canterbury Pilgrims Miltons Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained.His eccentricity and inventive intensity, which seemed care madness to more than a few of his contemporaries, came from Blakes childhood fill by much(prenominal) sleek overts as beholding Gods face pressed against his window, seeing angels among the haystacks, and being visited by the superannuated Testament prophet, Ezekiel (Abrams, 2000, p. 36). When his brother died in 1887, Blake claimed that he saw his rel eased spirit ascend heavenwards, clapping its hand for joy, and before long after, this spirit would visit him with a critical revelation of the method of Illuminated Printing that he would using up in his major poetical works.His obscurity as a poet was due in part to the clog of his work after the mid-1790s but chiefly to the very limited issue of his books, a consequence of the conscientious and time-consuming process of his Illuminated Printing. Blakes illuminated printing in allowed him to not only publish his poetry but also create art to compliment it.The books included many etchings, most often aslope in dramatic fashion, that depicted many of Blakes religious and social concerns. He prophesized, included biblical satire and concerns, and addressed timely subjects such as the suffering he observed and the rampant terra firma of religious hypocrisy in capital of the United Kingdom. As Blakes mythical poetic character Los said, speaking for all imaginative artists, I m ust Create a System or be enslaved by some other Mans (Abrams, 2000, p. 27).In Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Blake reflects the increasing shift of Western smart set towards a more secular, nonparasitic mode of thinking. To Blake, the simple joy to be had in venturing the countryside to hear the songs of the birds is more valuable than learning learning from books, or religion from the scriptures, and in his work Blake suggests that children are inherently and naturally good, and only by means of the systems of man are they corrupted and robbed of joy.This new faith of Blake in the natural integrity of humans contradicts the concept of the move of Man, espousing that the malaise of modern culture is a mode of psychic disintegration and of resultant alienation from oneself, ones world, and ones fellow human beings (Abrams, 2000, p. 39). To Blake, like later poets of the Romantic age, the only wish of recovery for humanity rested in reintegration into the social and na tural worlds, as well as hamper to the incorruptible word of God.In Songs of Innocence, Blake combines many of his social and religious views into an etching accompanying his poem, The Little Black Boy. In some copies, Blake tinted the black sons skin as light as the slope boys, while in others he colored them differently while the heavenly scene that Blake depicts shows both boys furnish by a tree and welcomed by Christ, it also puts the black boy outside of the inner beat formed by the curve of Christs body and the praying English boy.Blake depicted the racism of London by showing the little black boy as not a part of the flesh of the prayer, but rather a witness to it, stroking the hair of the English boy who has no cypher for him (Abrams, 2000, p. 45). By depicting the innocent scene with Christ as he does, Blake is showing how Christian society often excludes those that do not fit the right social criteria. This unique aspect of Blakes devoutness was one of the main ant ecedents to the spirit of freedom and equality that would come to dominate the Romantic era.Blake hoped to reach a wider audience with a private order of his illustrations in 1809, but his adventurous originality, coupled with his cantankerous and agonistic personality, left him medium-largely ignored, except by a few harsh critics. At the time of his decease in 1827, he was impoverished and almost entirely unknown except to a small root word of younger painters, and only decades after his life did interest begin to grow in his literary and nice contributions.The overwhelming theme in the works of Blake is religion. During his life, Blake declared that all he knew was in the Bible and that The anile and New Testaments are the Great Code of Art. This is an exaggeration of the truth that all his religious and prophetic art deals with some aspects of the overall biblical plot of the creation and the Fall, the history of the generations of humanity in the fallen world, redemption , and the insure of a recovery of Eden and of a New Jerusalem (Abrams, 2000, p. 37).Though Blake spent considerable time on his illuminated printing, his continuous experimentation with form and artistic registerion led to a series of large color prints of massive size and iconic designs. Though no commission or public exhibition is recorded, and the exact intensions of the artist and the works creation remain unknown, the prints continue to reflect Blakes literary and biblical concerns, featuring twelve designs with subjects drawn from the Bible, Shakespeare, Milton, and Enlightenment subjects such as north (Barker, 2004).Once again, Blake treads the fine line between religious faith and faith in humanity to understand existence and create magnificent works of beauty. However, unalike many of the artists that would follow him, Blakes art displayed many of his preferences for the medieval and gothic art of the centuries prior. Blake was not exactly in his interest in gothic cul ture, and a great gothic revival swept through England, Europe, and North America towards the end of the eighteenth century.Often reflected best in the dramatic spires of architectural creations of the time, Blake saw these architectural and sculptural accomplishments as the perfect embodiment of his artistic ideal, where spirituality and aesthetic values were inseparable (Tate Britain, 2008). To Blake, the spiritual attributes of the gothic revival reflected the height of creative expression, and his art included many characteristics of the gothic style. In his engraving, Joseph of Arimathea among the Rocks of Albion helps express some of his Christian gothic ideals.The picture depicted the legendary figure that supposedly brought Christianity, as well as art to Blake, to ancient Britain, and Joseph is depicted as a melancholic artist reflective of Blakes ideals (Tate Britain, 2008). Though Blake described his technique as fresco, it was more of a form of monotype which used oil an d poster paint paints mixed with chalks, painted onto a flat surface such as a copperplate or piece of millboard, and he simply pulled prints by pressing a sheet of paper against the damp paint, often finishing designs in ink and watercolor to make them each unique (Barker, 2004).Blakes talent for painting religious icons caught the attention and won the patronage of Thomas Butts, who would become one of Blakes biggest supporters. Using the Bible as he key source of inspiration, between 1799 and 1805, Blake produced one-hundred thirty-five watercolors and paintings for Butts Blake used the Bible not merely as a historical, spiritual, and literary guide, but also the fundamental source of all human knowledge, even of the future (Tate Britain, 2008).In the religious paintings Blake produced for Butts, he employed the tempera technique believing it to be representative of the spiritual art of the medieval times that inspired the gothic revival. Using his own symbolism in many of the re ligious scenes he depicts, Blake incorporates many of the Enlightenment ideals into his scenes. In one depiction of Christ, Blake depicts him as holding a compass, as meant to signify the predomination of reason, and shown in his other works, most famously in his portrayal of Isaac Newton (Tate Britain, 2008).Blakes gothic style was also incorporated in his highly stylized religious subjects like The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in the Sun, which come directly from the Book of Revelation. along with his depictions of Chaucers pilgrims and Dantes themes of Catholicism, Blake continued to depict religion in his work until his death. Though William Blake is considered a precursor to the humanism and natural passion of the Romantic era, his religious beliefs dominated much of his work and his life.Unlike many religious artists, Blake retained his own unique views of religion, and did not shy away from depicting its flaws and misinterpretations. However, Blake continued to see the goodness of religion, as well as humanity, and did his best to combine the elements of the real world with that of the spiritual world. And, while Blake is still considered more of a poet than for his achievements in painting and etching, the complete picture of the artist is not complete without intentional his accomplishments in each art form, and understanding the importance that religion played in inspiring their creation.REFERENCES Abrams, M. H. (2000). William Blake 1757-1827. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th Ed. Vol. 1. New York W. W. Norton & Company. Barker, E. E. (2004, October). William Blake (17571827). Timeline of Art History. New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http//www. metmuseum. org/toah/hd/blke/hd_blke. htm Tate Britain. (2008). William Blake. Retrieved April 22, 2008, from http//www. tate. org. uk/britain/exhibitions/blake/blakethemes2. htm