Blake as an ArtistI have attempted to approach the Illuminated Books from an art-historical point of view, a task which would have been impossible if the general consensus upon their meaning had not been established in the last few years, primarily by literary scholars. I am now convinced that Blake's mythology can be made sufficiently comprehensible to allow one to discuss his subject matter in a way comparable to that of any other artist of the past, but I am also aware that many scholars regard the Illuminated Books as more complex in thought than I do. It is clear to me that the Illuminated Books are not a self-contained aspect of Blake's work, but contribute directly to the understanding of the seemingly more conventional designs for the Bible, for Milton and for other writers. A central assumption of this book is that there is a fundamental unity between Blake's art and his writing, but my focus has still been predominantly upon the art, and I have made literary judgments only when they affect the argument. - Introduction. |
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Adam and Eve Albion Angel antique appears artist Benjamin West Bible Biblical Book of Job Book of Urizen Bottom British Museum Butts child Christ colour printed contrast copy creation Cumberland Dante daughters Death depicted Divine drawing early engraving Enitharmon Erdman Eternal exhibited Fallen world Felpham figure Fitzwilliam Museum Flaxman frontispiece Fuseli Fuseli's Gothic Grave Greek Hayley human Huntington Library Illuminated Books illustrations imagery Jehovah Jerusalem Joseph Joseph of Arimathea Keynes and Wolf Last Judgement letter Linnell London Los's Marriage of Heaven motif nature Night Thoughts painting Palamabron Paradise Lost poem poetic prophecy Prophetic Books Raphael Records Redemption Relief etching religion represented reveals Reynolds Rossetti Royal Academy Satan scene sculpture seen sense serpent Songs of Innocence soul spirit Stothard suggest Swedenborg Tate cat Tate Gallery tempera series Thel Tiriel title-page Victoria and Albert vision Visionary visual watercolours William Blake