Discover William Blake: Iconic Poet, Artist, Visionary and Inventor
William Blake (1757-1827) was a poet, art, and printmaker whose work defied his time's conventions. His art and poetry bridged the seen and unseen, the material world and the spiritual realm. He was largely unrecognised in his lifetime, but he would become an essential figure in the Romantic Age and beyond. Through the years, Blake's legacy has only grown, inspiring generations of artists, writers, and musicians to explore the depths of imagination and the human soul. Interested in learning more? Let's go!
The Ancient of Days - William Blake - 1794
William Blake's Origins and Early Artistic Development
Born in London in 1757, William Blake showed artistic talent early on; from age ten, his parents enrolled him in drawing school and bought books full of images to engrave and copy. These were his first introductions to influential artists like Raphael, Michelangelo, Maarten van Heemskerck and Albrecht Dürer. When he was 14, Blake was apprenticed to James Basire, an engraver. Basire's style of line engraving and stippling was considered old-fashioned at the time because he used the 'mixed method' of preliminary etching followed by engraving. Despite this, his apprenticeship shaped his printmaking and engraving skills and introduced him to intellectual life in London. Basire supplied engravings to the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries, and Blake assisted with the creation of many of these. He spent three years drawing medieval monuments and wall paintings at Westminster Abbey, which may have influenced his lifelong interest in medieval art and British history.
The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun - William Blake -1805
How Catherine Blake Supported and Enabled William Blake's Work
In 1782, William Blake married Catherine Boucher, a woman who would become his lifelong partner in his personal and artistic endeavours. When they met, Catherine was illiterate, but Blake taught her to read, write, and engrave. Catherine became an essential collaborator, assisting Blake with his artworks, particularly in the labour-intensive process of colouring his engravings and prints. A profound emotional and creative partnership marked their marriage. According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Catherine "was the most important person in Blake's adult life, a constant companion, helpmate, and faithful believer in his genius. The couple had no children."
Catherine's contribution to Blake's art was central to his ability to produce visionary works that would later be recognised as masterpieces. Their relationship was one of marriage and mutual creative collaboration that sustained Blake throughout his life. In his biography 'Life of Blake', Allan Cunningham says, "The affection and fortitude of this woman [Catherine Blake] entitle her to much respect. She shared her husband's lot without a murmur, set her heart solely upon his fame, and soothed him in those hours of misgiving and despondency which are not unknown to the strongest intellects. She still lives to lament the loss of Blake—and feel it"
God blessing the seventh day - William Blake - 1805
The Influence of William Blake's Visions
Blake's art and poetry were deeply influenced by his religious visions and mystical experiences, which he claimed to have from an early age. He famously described seeing angels in a tree, the face of God at a window, and Prophet Ezekiel under a tree, as well as other spiritual phenomena that influenced his creative process.
William Blake used the intaglio engraving process, which was popular then, but he also invented the relief etching process around 1788. This innovation, he said, was shown to him by his late brother in a vision. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography says: "Blake's invention of relief etching also developed from his craft as an engraver. His new method was more direct, faster, and required less technical expertise than intaglio printmaking. It permitted Blake the artist to paint his images directly on a copperplate in acid-resistant varnish; Blake the poet could write his words in the same medium. The text must be executed in reverse, so that impressions would print right-way around, but this was only a slight impediment for a trained engraver. After the uncovered areas of the metal were etched away, the images stood in relief and could be inked quickly on, and printed with low pressure from, the surface. The process embodied a unity between conception and execution—a practice that became a principle of Blake's later aesthetic doctrines—rather than the divisions between invention and production embedded in eighteenth-century print technology and its class distinctions among authors and printers, artists and engravers."
Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing - William Blake - 1786
Who Were William Blake's Artistic Influences?
Michelangelo and Raphael: Blake was deeply influenced by the grandeur of Michelangelo's figures and the idealised forms depicted by Raphael. Their works shaped Blake's portrayal of the human body, especially in his illustrations, where his figures often take on heroic and mythological proportions.
Albrecht Dürer: The German Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer's precise engravings significantly impacted Blake's printmaking techniques. As a young man, Blake would buy copies of Dürer's engravings to learn from, and his attention to detail and fine line work in engraving echo Dürer's meticulous craftsmanship. Read more about Albrecht Dürer on the Vault Zine!
Henry Fuseli: Blake was profoundly influenced by the Swiss-born painter Henry Fuseli, who shared his interest in the supernatural and the human imagination; both artists explored the darker aspects of the human psyche and used bold, intense imagery to convey the power of dreams and visions. Check out our article on Henry Fuseli here!
Nebuchadnezzar (The Minneapolis Institute of Art impression) - William Blake, Printed 1795
Artists and Movements Influenced by William Blake
Blake's influence has spread far beyond his time, inspiring various movements and individual artists. He was celebrated by the Pre-Raphaelites, the Symbolist and Surrealist movements, and contemporary creatives like Bob Dylan and Patti Smith; Blake is now recognised as one of the most influential figures in British art and literature.
