Newton - William Blake
Archival giclée
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Description
A powerful 1795 colour print by William Blake, depicting Isaac Newton as a figure of rationalist isolation.
William Blake produced this iconic colour print in 1795. It depicts the physicist Isaac Newton as a muscular, nude figure hunched over a scroll on the seabed. Newton uses a compass to draw a geometric diagram, his gaze fixed entirely on his work. The background is a dark, cavernous space, suggesting the depths of the ocean or the void of the unknown.
Blake used this image to critique the scientific rationalism of the Enlightenment. By placing Newton in a confined, dark environment, he suggests that a purely mathematical view of the universe limits human perception. The figure of Newton is rendered with the anatomical precision characteristic of Blake's work, yet the composition emphasises his isolation. The contrast between the illuminated, precise geometry on the scroll and the murky, textured rock behind him creates a tension between human logic and the vast, mysterious natural world.
This print is one of a series of large colour prints created by Blake during the 1790s. He employed a unique method of monotype printing, applying paint to a board and transferring it to paper, which he then finished with pen and ink. This technique gives the work a distinct, layered texture. The palette is dominated by deep blues, greens, and earthy tones, which ground the figure in a primordial setting. The work remains a primary example of Blake's personal mythology, where he often used historical and biblical figures to represent specific philosophical or spiritual concepts. It invites viewers to consider the boundaries of scientific inquiry and the role of the imagination in understanding existence.
Return policy
Because every print is made to order, we don't offer change-of-mind returns, refunds or exchanges. If your order arrives faulty, damaged or incorrect, we'll replace it free of charge — just contact us within 48 hours of delivery. See our refunds page for full details.
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We ship worldwide, printing at the production hub nearest to your delivery address. Delivery times and costs vary by destination — you'll see the options available to you at checkout.
Manufacturing
Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Newton - William Blake
Artist Biography
William Blake
He married Catherine Boucher in 1782. She was illiterate at the time and signed the marriage register with an X. He taught her to read, write, and engrave, and she became his collaborator for the next forty-five years: mixing paint, operating the printing press, hand-colouring plates, and binding the finished pages into covers.
Their working method was Blake's own invention, revealed to him (he said) in a dream by the spirit of his dead brother Robert. Relief etching reversed the standard printmaking process: instead of cutting lines into copper, Blake wrote and drew on the plate in acid-resistant varnish, then dissolved the surrounding metal with acid, leaving text and image raised. This allowed him to compose poetry and illustration simultaneously on a single plate, print them together, then hand-colour each sheet in watercolour. Every copy was therefore unique. Songs of Innocence and of Experience was produced this way. He sold fewer than thirty copies during his lifetime.
In 1803, he physically threw a soldier named John Schofield out of his garden in Felpham. He was charged with assault and with uttering treasonable expressions against the King. He was acquitted at the Chichester assizes in January 1804.
Newton, painted in 1795, shows the scientist as a young man with the body of a Greek god, bent forward at the bottom of a dark ocean, fixing his gaze on a pair of compasses, measuring and drawing on a scroll that appears to project from his own head. It is a painting about the limits of reason: beautiful, precise, and missing everything beyond the edge of the paper. The Ancient of Days, from the same period, depicts his mythological figure Urizen crouching at the edge of a void, reaching down with a compass to measure the darkness below.
He died on 12 August 1827, working on illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy. He was buried at Bunhill Fields. The wider recognition came decades later.
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