William Blake

• 

  National Gallery of Art

  Washington, D.C., United States

  237 works

  

  Museum detailsMap

Plan your visit to see William Blake →

• Did william blake believe in god?+

  William Blake was a religious man.
• How did william blake die?+

  William Blake died in 1827 at the age of 70.
• Was william blake christian?+

  William Blake was a religious man, though he disagreed with Church teachings. His painting, The Ancient of Days, is an expression of God's perfection.
• What is william blake best known for?+

  William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker.
• What is William Blake's most famous work?+

  William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker of the Romantic Age. Largely ignored during his lifetime, he is now considered an exceptionally important artist. Blake trained as an engraver, and in August 1779, he was admitted to the Royal Academy. Blake is well known for his illuminated books, which combine his poems and pictures on a single printing plate. He produced these starting in 1788, using a technique revealed to him by his deceased brother Robert. Blake also worked in tempera, woodcut, relief etching, monotype, and watercolour. It is difficult to name one single work as Blake's most famous. However, key works by Blake include *God Judging Adam* (1795), *Newton* (circa 1805), *Nebuchadnezzar* (circa 1805), *The Good and Evil Angels* (circa 1805), and *The Body of Abel Found by Adam and Eve* (circa 1826). Blake himself considered *Jerusalem*, an epic about war, peace, and liberty focused on London, to be his finest work. Another popular work is *The Ancient of Days*, Blake's expression of God.
• What should I know about William Blake's prints?+

  William Blake, born in London in 1757, was a poet, painter and printmaker. Apprenticed to engraver James Basire at 14, he later studied at the Royal Academy. He made a living producing engravings for books; however, his opinions often put him at odds with his tutors. Blake invented a unique printing method, revealed to him (he claimed) by his dead brother Robert. Around 1788, he began creating illuminated books, combining text and image on a single printing plate. He drew and lettered on copper-plate using an acid-resistant medium, then etched the plate with acid, leaving the text and decorations in relief. Printed in black, these could then be coloured by hand. *Songs of Innocence* (1789) was made using this method. Blake's work became more radical after the French Revolution in 1789. He adapted his printing for full-scale paintings and received commissions for engravings and watercolours. Blake also worked in tempera, woodcut, and monotype. His prints often express his views on human dishonesty and oppression. His illustrations for the Book of Job, completed in 1821, are among his best-known works. Other examples include illustrations for Young’s *Night Thoughts*, *Jerusalem*, and Blair’s *Grave*.
• What techniques or materials did William Blake use?+

  William Blake trained as an engraver, and he combined his poetry with his artwork. In 1788, he began producing illuminated books using a technique that he claimed was revealed to him in a vision. This launched a particularly creative and productive period in his life. Blake employed several techniques, including tempera, woodcut, relief etching, monotype, and watercolour. He avoided oil paints, believing they lacked clarity of line. For his series of 12 prints that included *Elohim Creating Adam*, Blake invented a process similar to monotype. This involved painting an image on a surface, then pressing paper against the wet surface to attain a counterimage. For this series, Blake outlined his image in black paint on millboard, often adding a small amount of modelling. He would pull roughly three paper impressions from the millboard, using low pressure. To finish his image, he would paint the millboard again, but with colours, and press it on top of the pulled impressions with the black design. He then touched up the works with watercolour. Although Blake is said to have used oil paint for his printing, he most likely used an egg-based tempera.
• When did William Blake live and work?+

  William Blake was born in 1757 and died in 1827. He was active as a poet, painter, and printmaker during the Romantic era. Born in Golden Square, London, Blake started attending a drawing school in Covent Garden at the age of ten. At fourteen, he became an apprentice to James Basire, an engraver for the London Society of Antiquaries. While working for Basire, he worked on engravings for sepulchral monuments in Westminster Abbey. The Gothic style of the building had a strong effect on him. In 1779, Blake was admitted to the Royal Academy. He earned his way by producing engravings for novels and catalogues. In 1782, he became a freelance engraver, initially working for Joseph Johnson, a bookseller. Blake opened a print shop in 1784; however, it failed, and within two years, he was back working for Johnson. Blake created illustrations for the Old and New Testaments, Milton’s *Paradise Regained*, Young’s *Night Thoughts*, and his own poems, such as *Songs of Innocence*. From 1824 to 1826, he produced a hundred watercolours on Dante’s *Divina Commedia*, commissioned by John Linnell.
• Where can i see william blake paintings?+

  William Blake's works can be seen at National Gallery of Art^[2], Rosenwald Collection, Yale Center for British Art, and 2 other museums worldwide.
• Where can I see William Blake's work?+

  William Blake's art can be viewed in several locations. In the United Kingdom, these include the British Library, the British Museum, the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, all in London. Outside of London, you can find his work at the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. In the United States, several institutions hold collections of Blake's art. These include the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the National Gallery of Art^[2] in Washington, D.C.; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven; the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York; and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. His art can also be seen at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto.
• Where was William Blake from?+

  William Blake was English. He was born in London in 1757, in Golden Square. His father was a businessman. At the age of ten, Blake attended drawing school in Covent Garden. At fourteen, he became an apprentice to James Basire (1730-1802), an engraver for the London Society of Antiquaries. In 1779, he was admitted to the Royal Academy. He paid his way by producing engravings for novels and catalogues, and he learned to draw from casts, life models, and corpses. However, his opinions sometimes clashed with those of his tutors. In 1782, Blake became a freelance engraver. He initially worked for the bookseller Joseph Johnson (1738-1809). In 1784, he opened a print shop; however, the business failed, and within two years he was working for Johnson again.
• Who did William Blake influence?+

  William Blake's singular style and mystical leanings influenced a range of artists, particularly after his wider recognition almost a century after his death in 1827. Blake encouraged the young painter Samuel Palmer to cultivate his imaginative powers. Palmer, in turn, created original works in the west of Kent. Some critics see Palmer's dark, stylised woodland scenes as the start of an exaggerated visionary style that continued through Van Gogh, Gauguin, Munch, the Fauves, Hartley, and Burchfield. Palmer's dreamy paintings also anticipated Symbolism and Impressionism. He later founded a group called The Ancients, who embraced pre-Renaissance art for its spiritual elements. The Pre-Raphaelite painters sought out Palmer because of his art and his connection to Blake. Blake's art is related to that of John Henry Fuseli. Both artists have only recently been rediscovered by the Modern Movement. Around 1900, artists like Franz von Bayros and Aubrey Beardsley saw eroticism as related to pain and suffering, as did Fuseli. Blake's work has similarities with that of Runge. Goethe said of Runge, "A man so on a knife edge will die or go mad," which could also apply to Blake.