William Blake (1757-1827)

William Blake (1757-1827) was a amazing man capable of many things. Blake was a Engraver, artist, poet, visionary, and author at the time. being born from a regular family, his father was a hosiery selling socks, gloves, and haberdashery.

Spiritual Man

William Blake was a very spiritual man that would consistently have prophetic visions throughout his life. One time when he was 4 years old William Blake saw God’s face peer out of a window. Another instance depicts the time where William had to take care of his dying brother Robert. According to one account, William states that he saw his brother’s spirit escape his physical body, clapping it’s hands with joy as the spirit went to heaven.

I think the craziest account stated was when William Blake was a child and went to engraver William Wynne Ryland for a interview. Blake stated “Father, I do not like the man’s face; it looks as if he will live to be hanged.”. Surely enough, 11 years layer Wynne Ryland was hung for forgery in Tyburn Tree.

Career as a Engraver

William Blake aspired to be a artist when he was a child however Blake’s parents ran a small business so he couldn’t be apprenticed to a popular English school of painting at the time. Instead, he was sent to Henry Par’s Drawing School in Strand, London.

When Blake was 15, he went under a apprenticeship to James Basire; a line engraver that specialized in architecture. Blake studied with James for 7 years and became very proficient in the craft.

After serving his apprenticeship, Blake would work frequently on commissions provided to him by Joseph Johnson. William Blake would soon become a very popular engraver that was known for his own designs.

Career as a Artist

In 1779, Blake enrolled in the Royal Academy of Arts, and exhibited a select few pictures. Blake would paint using watercolours and paper instead of the popular oil on canvas, and he would paint religious subjects instead of portraiture at the time, most likely influenced by his prophetic visions.

Most of Blake’s commissions were watercolour paintings, instead of engraving which is what Blake was known for best. Most of his illustrations weren’t published as they would sit in the private homes of the commissioners. Only a select few books featured William Blake’s work. Some samples include the Book of Enoch and the Genesis manuscript.

Career as a Poet

Although Blake was a painter and his profession was engraving, he also enjoyed poetry when he was younger. Blake held extraordinary talents as a poet however he had no interest in publishing his works. Most of his poems were based off his prophetic visions, and would gain popularity later on after his death.

Influence and Reputation

William Blake was a talented man that had many great influences. Having studied many things in his life, Blake was a underground artist, engraver, and poet who was constantly under the subject of study after his death. Blake had been considered a heretic in his lifetime. However, after the studies and publications of William Blake’s life and works done by Alexander Gilchrist, it was only then that Blake was shown in a new light.

William Blake’s works would resurface near the 19th-21st centuries and would influence the Pre-Raphaelites and Modernists. The prophetic visions that he experienced remains a figure of study to this day, and the creativity and expressive works that he produced is incomparable to any other.

 

**Side Note**

I just wanted to address that at first I thought William Blake’s illustrations and carvings would be like any other renowned artist in this period, but after looking at the works he made I’m speechless……..

The creativity in each piece and the compositions are baffling, and I can definitely see how almost everyone during Blake’s lifetime would call him a heretic.

 

Citation:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/William-Blake
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-blake