William Blake

1
William Blake

• (1757-1827)

2
Biography

• Born in London on November 28, 1757, to James, a
  hosier, and Catherine Blake
• He learned to read and write at home because he
  was an unruly child
• From early childhood, Blake spoke of having
  visions At nine, Blake said that he saw walking
  down Peckham Rye, he looked up to see a tree
  filled with angels.

3
Biography

• At ten, Blakes parents sent him to drawing
  school (Mr. Pars Drawing School in the Strand)
  after he expressed his desire to be an artist
• Two years later, Blake began writing poetry.
• At fourteen, he apprenticed with an engraver
  because art school was too expensive.
• After his seven-year term ended, he studied
  briefly at the Royal Academy

4
Biography

• In 1782, Blake married Catherine Boucher. He
  taught her how to read, write and draw. They had
  no children.
• In 1783 Blake's Poetical Sketches were published
• a collection of apprentice verse, mostly
  imitating classical models. The poems protest
  against war, tyranny, and King George III's
  treatment of the American colonies. (Poets.org)
• In 1784, Blake's father died. That same year
  Blake set up a print shop with a friend but the
  venture failed after three years

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Biography

• Blake also trained his younger brother Robert in
  draftsmanship, but he fell ill and died in 1789.
  Blake claimed he saw his brothers spirit pass
  through the ceiling on its way to heaven.
• Blake said the spirit came to him in a dream and
  revealed the secret technique for combining poem
  and picture on a single printing plate.

• In 1789 Blake completed The Songs of Innocence,
  the first of his illuminated books using the
  method Roberts spirit showed him
• In 1794 he followed it with Songs of Experience.
• At the end of the decade Blake was commissioned
  into illustrating other artists works. However,
  the work was not enough and Blake was not well
  off.

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Biography

• In 1800 Blake and his wife moved to the seacoast
  town of Felpham, where he lived and worked until
  1803 under the patronage of poet William Hayley.
• Received many commissions from Hayley but grew
  tired of high society
• Experienced many more profound spiritual insights
  that prepared him for his later works
• In 1803 returned to London because he was put on
  trial for treason for driving a soldier out of
  his garden and supposedly muttering Damn the
  king. The soldiers are all slaves.

7
Biography

• Back in London he worked on illuminated books.
  He also was asked to illustrate some works- but
  was not paid much so he became increasingly
  paranoid and cantankerous, breaking off from most
  of his friends and patrons. (Murray)
• In 1806, publisher Robert Cromek and artist
  Thomas Stothard teamed up to create a painting
  and engraving of Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims.
• Blake claimed they had stolen the idea from him
  and decided to hold a one-man exhibition centered
  around his own version of the Canterbury
  Pilgrims.
• He didnt have enough money so he held the show
  in his brothers hosiery shop in 1809. Almost
  no one came.
• The reviews were cruel, mocking Blake as 'an
  unfortunate lunatic whose personal
  inoffensiveness secures him from confinement',
  and dismissing his Descriptive Catalogue as 'a
  farrago of nonsense...and egregious vanity'.
  (Murray)

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Biography

• By 1810, Blake was impoverished and alienated
  from his friends and patrons. But Blake continued
  to work
• Blake finally gained a following of younger
  artists in his sixties. The group called
  themselves "the Ancients and called Blake The
  Interpreter. With their admiration he became
  confident and less angry.
• In 1827, Blake fell ill. One of his last drawings
  was a picture of Catherine, that he drew from his
  deathbed. He died on August 12 when he was 69
  years old. He was buried in a grave in the
  dissenters graveyard at Bunhill fields.

9
Influences

• The bible and Blakes visions greatly influenced
  what he painted and wrote
• When Blake apprenticed with an engraver, one of
  his assignments was to sketch the tombs at
  Westminster Abbey, exposing him to a variety of
  Gothic styles from which he would draw
  inspiration throughout his career.
• When he was young, Blake collected prints of
  (then unfashionable) artists such as Durer,
  Raphael, and Michelangelo.

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Influences

• When Blake attended the Royal Academy there was
  some friction between Blake and his teachers.
  Many teachers discouraged Blake's admiration for
  the ancients works. However he was inspired by
  the artist James Barry who created grand
  historical paintings.
• When Blake grew old, many younger artists were
  attracted to his artwork- including
  watercolorists John Linnell and John Varley.
• Blakes poetry went on to inspire song writers
  including Dylan and U2. He also influenced poets
  Yeats and Hart Crane. His poetry impacted some
  childrens authors, including Maurice Sendak

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Style

• His life and art celebrate the indomitable
  strength of human spirit, the beauty of small
  things, the joys of innocence, and the
  transforming power of imagination. (Bedard)
• Mythical/Biblical creatures and features
• Most of his paintings were prints- made by the
  method his brothers spirit showed him- by
  etching them in copper plates. Each print was
  painted by hand using water color.

12
Nebuchanezzar1795

• Nebuchanezzar was the King of Babylon who was
  punished by God for being too arrogant.
• In the painting he is in exile. He crawls like
  an animal on all fours. He even has claws and is
  in a cave. He is eyes show horror or
  embarrassment.
• At the time Blake painted this Louis XVI of
  France had been executed two years before, in
  England George III, suffered from fits of
  insanity after losing the colonies in America.
  This painting mocks the absolute rulers of
  Blakes time.
• Blake uses dark colors to set the gloomy tone for
  the painting. The central focus is the man in
  the middle.

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The Ancient of Days1794

• Originally the cover of a poem book that Blake
  wrote called 'Europe A Prophecy', but at that
  time it was just an uncoloured print. He added
  color just days before he died.
• Ancient of Days is a name for God in Aramaic
• The whole painting is black except for God and
  his surroundings. This draws the focus to him
  and what he is doing. He is reaching down
  towards the earth. Golden beams are extending
  from his hands- symbolizing his power to create
  and control what happens on the earth.

14
Jacobs Ladder

• In the book of Genesis, Jacob has a dream where
  he sees a ladder extending to heavens gate. The
  ladder is now symbolic of the interlocking world
  of God, man and the soul.
• Jacob is sleeping at the base of the stairs,
  while angels and other spirits dance and walk up
  and down the stairs.
• The stairs shape force an illusion of great
  height- the heavens are barely visible.
• The lines formed by the stairs and the rays point
  towards the heavens and God.