William Blake

William Blake was a poet, painter, engraver, and visionary artist who expressed the spiritual drama of the English national being. Kathleen Raine's book explores the influence of mystical, alchemical, and gnostic philosophy on his art, unraveling the complex symbolism expressed in his paintings and prints. It also describes the powerful impact of his reading of Dante, Milton, and the Bible on his life and thought. The book includes 185 illustrations in color.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 18 March 2021
Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd

William Blake (1757-1827) was an artist of unparalleled imagination and far-reaching creative gifts. His work expresses the spiritual drama of the English national being, integrating poetry and visual art in a sustained work of visionary creativity unparalleled in English art history.

Revealing Blake to be far more than a revolutionary social radical, this classic study reshapes our understanding of the artist's achievement. Kathleen Raine details the enriching effect of mystical, alchemical, and gnostic philosophy on Blake's art. She unravels the complex, deeply felt symbolism expressed in his paintings and prints, and describes the powerful impact of his reading of Dante, Milton, and the Bible.

Raine's compelling text guides the reader through the life and thought of this extraordinary artist. Fully alive to the uniqueness of Blake's art, which has "a reality, a coherence, a climate all its own," she introduces famous works such as Jerusalem, Songs of Innocence and of Experience, The Four Zoas, and The Book of Job, relating them to Blake's world view and explaining their prophetic qualities, their fierce energy, and their central place in British Romantic art.

With 185 illustrations in color, this is the definitive study of one of the greatest artists of the English-speaking world.

Weight: 474g
Dimension: 152 x 210 x 18 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780500204726
Edition number: New Edition