Instagram story viewer> @williamblakearchive> Posts

William Blake Archive

@williamblakearchive

37.8K

followers

77

following

Digital archive online since 1996 | Public resource sharing prints, paintings, & poems of William Blake | Divisions at @urochester & @uncchapelhill

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

+++ New Publication +++

The William Blake Archive is pleased to announce the publication of Blake's annotations to Emanual Swedenborg's "A Treatise Concerning Heaven and Hell and the Wonderful Things Werein." Bentley suggests that the marginalia was likely written between 1787 and 1790 (Bentley, Writings, 2: 1742), placing its composition date near that of "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" of 1790.

© 2026 Harvard University by @williamblakearchive

393

8

23 days ago

Blake’s Blues

Image 1: © 2003 Fitzwilliam Museum
Image 2: © 2003 Morgan Library and Museum
Image 3: © 2006 British Museum
Image 4: © 2004 Yale Center for British Art
Image 5: © 2009 Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery by @williamblakearchive

565

6

a month ago

Today we present you an example of Blake’s commercial book illustrations.

When planning a third edition of his successful school text, “The Pastorals” of Virgil, Robert John Thornton employed Blake to contribute some of the new designs for the two-volume work. Among his many other endeavors, Thornton was the physician for Blake’s patron John Linnell, who probably played a key role in securing the commission. Blake’s assignment was to illustrate Ambrose Philips‘ English „imitation“ of Virgil’s first eclogue.

© 2011 Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery by @williamblakearchive

294

3

a month ago

We reached the end of our summer break 🎉

To Summer (by William Blake)

O Thou who passest thro’ our vallies in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched’st here thy golden tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy, thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o’er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy vallies, on
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our vallies love the Summer in his pride.
Our bards are fam’d who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat.

Artwork: Illustrations to Shakespeare (Composed ca. 1779 - ca. 1825): Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing

© 2020 Tate Collection by @williamblakearchive

104

1

2 months ago

Look at the elephant’s paws!

© 2009 Henry E. Huntington Library and Art Gallery by @williamblakearchive

53

0

2 months ago

Save & Restore William Blake's Cottage in Sussex for the Nation. Help us open it to the public for the first time in its history.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/save-r22estore-william-blakes-cottage

“In Felpham I heard and saw the Visions of Albion / I write in South Molton Street, what I both see and hear” - Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Giant Albion

The Blake Cottage Trust is restoring Blake’s Cottage in Felpham, West Sussex, UK where William and Catherine Blake lived and worked for three years. The Trust is raising funds to complete the restoration and to create a Visitor Centre and library, thereby establishing a lasting legacy for England’s visionary poet, painter and engraver. The aim is to open the Cottage to the public in 2027, the anniversary of Blake’s death, designated as Blake200, when there will be a host of events in the area to complement the opening. Funds are needed urgently for critical restoration work (there is a special tax beneficial portal for US donors). See the website at blakecottage.org for more information.

© The Blake Cottage Trust by @williamblakearchive

531

10

3 months ago

+++ Series Final - Part 5 +++

With the “The First Book of Urizen” and “VALA, OR THE FOUR ZOAS,” Blake creates something akin to the Marvel Universe with shared characters. At the same time we are excited to announce that we are working currently on the diplomatic transcriptions for “VALA, OR THE FOUR ZOAS” (COMPOSED C. 1796-1807).

With its double columns of text and divisions into chapters and verses, the format of “The [First] Book of Urizen” indicates its close relationship to the Bible. The poem is in many respects a heterodox rewriting of Genesis, one in which the creation of the universe is seen as a fall into materiality and its abstract laws. The process is initiated by Urizen when he separates himself from his fellow “Eternals” and thereby creates difference, absence, and self-consciousness. As Urizen falls into this void of his own making, Los reacts by building a material and temporal base below which Urizen cannot descend. Through this narrative of ultimate origins, Blake explores fundamental epistemological and ontological issues.

The messy, complex manuscript of nearly 150 pages of “VALA, OR THE FOUR ZOAS” that has slowly settled into Blake’s oeuvre under its odd double name has resisted efforts to edit it satisfactorily in print, but for those who aim to grasp the full compass of Blake’s artistic, social, and spiritual aspirations, the manuscript is indispensable. Northrop Frye wrote that “There is nothing like the colossal explosion of creative power in the Ninth Night of “The Four Zoas” anywhere else in English poetry,” while the work as a whole is “the greatest abortive masterpiece in English literature” (Fearful Symmetry page 305). Indeed, there is that—but there is also, as Frye recognized, the pivotal place of “VALA, OR THE FOUR ZOAS,”” in Blake’s creative life as writer and visual artist.

Urizen: © 1998 William Blake Archive
Four Zoas: © 2017 British Library by @williamblakearchive

814

9

4 months ago

+++ Series Part 4 +++

Divided into sections entitled “Africa” and “Asia,” “The Song of Los” is the last of Blake’s “Continental Prophecies” (see also America [1793] and Europe [1794]).

Blake abandons direct references to contemporary events to pursue the junctures among biblical narrative, the origins of law and religion, and his own developing mythology. Adam, Noah, Socrates, Brama, Los, Urizen and many others represent both historical periods and states of consciousness. The loose narrative structure reaches towards a vision of universal history ending with apocalyptic resurrection.

All plates: © 2004 British Museum by @williamblakearchive

2k

5

5 months ago

+++ Series Part 3 +++

“Europe” is the second Prophecy in Blake’s series. It was printed in 1794 and consists of 18 engraved plates.

“Europe” presents in mythopoeic form the fundamental philosophical positions in conflict in Blake’s revolutionary era. In Blake’s understanding of the word, a prophecy is less about foreseeing the future than a comment on his time. In “Europe,” the French Revolution plays a central role. Historical events are reconfigured into their universalized representations through Blake’s own cast of characters, including Enitharmon, the female personification of fallen nature and history, Orc, the spirit of revolt, and Los and Urizen, the “Eternals” who would become central to Blake’s mythic system of the “Zoas.” These contending forces lead beyond political revolution to an apocalypse of biblical scope. Only Copies H and K contain Plate 3, a whimsical prefatory statement about the poem’s origin.

All plates: © 2001 Fitzwilliam Museum by @williamblakearchive

939

7

5 months ago

+++ Series Part 2 +++

“America, a Prophecy” (1793) is the first part of Blake’s “Continental Prophecies” series. In the sixteen illuminated plates of images and texts, Blake envisions how the enchained Orc – symbolizing America – has broken his chain and liberated himself.

In the first image, the chained Titan buries his head between his knees, and the gloominess of his imprisonment permeates through the dense lines of Blake’s engraving. In the second image, however, the winged-snake, which embodies the fierce revolutionary spirit, flies from England to the continent of America, and descends to awake the Orc from his slumber in imprisonment. Eventually in the third image, the liberated Orc sits upright on a lawn, gazing at the heaven which is no longer dominated by dark clouds.

Scroll left to check out Orc’s path to liberation! How do you like Blake’s interpretation of American Independence?

© 2003 William Blake Archive by @williamblakearchive

936

6

5 months ago

+++ New Series - Part 1 +++

Over the next few weeks, we present to you an exciting series of posts related to William Blake’s “Continental Prophecies” and two thematically related texts, namely the “Book of Urizen” and the “Four Zoas.”

The first two books focus on America and Europe, while the “Song of Los” features the continents of Africa and Asia. The reason for dividing this reinterpretation of creation into three books is based on the biblical story of Noah’s sons possessing Africa, Asia, and Europe after the Great Flood.

All three books are part of the so-called “Lambeth Books,” named after Blake’s place of residence. What is furthermore noteworthy is that “Europe” and “Los” are illuminated books. Illumination is an artistic printing technique invented by Blake, in which the color is placed on the copper plate for printing instead of being added afterwards. He himself writes that his invention results in “a method of Printing both Letter-press and Engraving in a style more ornamental, uniform, and grand, than any before discovered.” If that does not raise our expectations!

After the French Revolution, Blake joined the counter-cultural movement that politicized readings of the Bible, as some scholars argue. Others caution us against reading his texts too literally. In Blake’s understanding, a prophecy is not only future-oriented, as D. W. Dörrbecker writes in his introduction to the Continental Prophecies. Rather, his style is highly ambiguous and thus can be a direct reference to the French Revolution, or not. Therefore, Dörrbecker concludes that Blake’s books “oblige the readers and spectators to make a choice and thus participate responsibly in the construction of meaning.” This is what we invite you to do. On our website (link in bio), we offer diplomatic transcriptions of a vast number of Blake’s works that you can check out.

“America a Prophecy:” © 2003 Morgan Library and Museum
“Europe a Prophecy:” © 2001 Fitzwilliam Museum
“The Song of Los:” © 2003 The William Blake Archive by @williamblakearchive

1k

8

5 months ago

In the week of her birthday, (April 25, 1762), we would like to honor Catherine Sophia Blake (née Boucher), William’s wife, and her work as an artist and assistant to her husband.

She was an artist and printer in her own right and worked alongside her husband on the printing press, often performing the coloring of prints and stitching together the volumes. He also trained her to become an engraver. For her lifetime, this was an unusual profession for a woman, which highlights the exceptional role she played, so that we should consider both Blakes a team.

Here you see the painting “Agnes” by Catherine. The second image is a sketch of Catherine by William.

Upon her husband’s death, she was left penniless and needed to make a living as a housekeeper for Frederick Tatham while also keeping financially afloat by printing and selling William’s work as well as her own art.

© The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

© Wikipedia, “Catherine Blake” by @williamblakearchive

968

9

6 months ago