William Blake--painter, engraver, and poet--explained why his work was filled with religious visions rather than with subjects from everyday life. Few people in his time realized that Blake expressed these visions with a talent that approached genius. He lived in near poverty and died unrecognized. Today, however, Blake is acclaimed one of England's great figures of art and literature and one of the most inspired and original painters of his time.
William Blake was born in Carnaby Market in London on November 28, 1757. Born in London in 1757, Blake was middle class. His father who was an Irishman and his mother was thought to be English. They had no formal education. He was the third of seven children. Throughout his childhood, he developed a love and appreciation of Greek classicism. As a young adult he would pursue the art of engraving.
He was a boldly imaginative rebel in both his thought and his art. He combined poetic and pictorial genius to explore life. In 1782 Blake married Catherine Boucher, daughter of one of his patrons. He and Catherine would spend almost forty-five years together.
Blake spent most of his life in London. From his earliest years he saw visions. He would see trees full of angels or similar sights. If these were not true mystical visions, they were the result of the artist's intense spiritual understanding of the world. From his early teens, Blake wrote poems, often setting them to melodies of his own composition.
William Blake is said to be one of the fathers of the 18th century Romantic Movement. A Dissenter, Blake was fond of religion but not establishment. Many of his works are representative of his love of the Bible but disdain for the church.
In 1772 Blake became apprentice to James Basire. During his six year stint with Basire, Blake spent many years studying the Gothic buildings of London. A specific influence of his was Westminster Abbey. After his apprenticeship, he spent six years at the Royal Academy. He was not fond of the art being taught at the academy and generally disagreed with the director Joshua Reynolds who believed in “general beauty.” Blake responded with: “To Generalize is to be an Idiot; To Particularize is the Alone Distinction of Merit.”
In 1783 Blake saw his first major achievement when his poetry, Poetical Sketches, was published and featured at the National Gallery. He and his brother Robert later opened a print shop in London. He began receiving important commissions over the next twenty years finding himself in Sussex. His time in Sussex ended with an altercation between him and one of the King’s soldiers.
In 1804 he found himself back in London. There he began his sixteen years of work on Jerusalem. After finishing his own interpretation of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Pilgrims”, he later installed it at his brother’s shop. During this period he befriended John Linnell and joined the Shoreham Ancients. They prided themselves on a rejection of modern forms and art while observing spiritual classicism. His friendship with Linnell landed him his most prized commission, Dante’s Inferno.
In 1826 he began his watercolors of Dante’s Inferno only to complete it partially. He died in 1827 while supposedly drawing a portrait of his wife, Catherine, but this portrait has been since lost.
Reunion of the Soul and the Body
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Blake was usually very biblical so I think this is the Christian interpretation of the soul and body reuniting. Notice that the soul is portrayed as a women and the body as a man. The body is rising from his grave while his soul descends from the heavens so they can reunite, but it may not be for eternity. The earth looks like it is on fire and it is the end of mankind. After the soul and body reunite it is not known where they will be destined to end up, maybe at the end of days when your body and soul unite you go to heaven. People say heaven is a different place and some say it is earth reborn.
The Good and Evil Angels struggling for possession of a child
This painting places emphasis on Blake's religious nature. It reinterates the biblical scriptures that state that we are all born sinners but we have to be saved by the grace of God. From birth, we have a sinful nature so that creates a constant battle between who we are and who God intends for us to be. There is always an inner strugle between what we know to be right and wrong. The baby appears to be used in the painting because babies are defenseless and it is easier for evil spirits to overtake them because they do not know how to ward off these spirits, in the absence of the protection from a good angel.
The Fall of Man
In this painting, there is sunlight in the middle which symbolizes light and happiness while there is mankind surrounding the whole image. Man has corrupted themselves and this world over generations. There is much progression in this one. The early and the good with Jesus in the middle create the foundation and everything outside of it has still not made its way in. Man has fallen rather than risen up and is oblivious to it. Also, a closer look shows the tree from which Adam and Eve ate from, which caused the fall of man. The three figures with their hands joined might be Jesus, sent down to save the world, and Adam and Eve flanking Him. To the side of them, you can see the angels crying. God seems to be sending down His wrath from His thrown because ofwhat Adam and Eve did (the lightning and what looks like fire). The middle figuremight be the cheribum leading them out of the Garden.
