The Watercolor Illustrations of William Blake (1757-1827)
Illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy: Antaeus sets down Dante and Virgil in the Last Circle of Hell, 1824-27
Fine Art Reproduction
Image Size: 12 x 8.4 inches
This reproduction is a new, individually printed and proofed, superior quality, giclee* process, fine art print.
It is printed on 100% cotton rag acid-free, heavyweight fine art paper with a luxurious textured watercolor paper finish and archival pigment inks to ensure permanence.
Created for collectors, it IS NOT A POSTER or mass produced print on low quality, inexpensive paper.
William Blake (1757 – 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker of astonishing power and originality who has inspired generations of poets, painters and artists of all ages. Seen by the British public of his day as a combination of individualism and creativity his poem “Tyger” and verses to the hymn “Jerusalem” are still revered today. His prints, numerous illuminated books, drawings and paintings continue to appeal to a wide audience.
Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic poetry has been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". His visual artistry has led one contemporary art critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced".
Blake’s most famous illustrations are for Dante’s Divine Comedy which came to him through a commission in 1826 through the artist John Linnell, with the ultimate aim of producing a series of engravings. Blake's death in 1827 would cut short the enterprise, and only a handful of the watercolors were completed, with only seven of the engravings arriving at proof form. Even so, they have evoked praise.
The Divine Comedy watercolors are among Blake's richest achievements, engaging fully with the problem of illustrating a poem of this complexity. The mastery of watercolor has reached an even higher level than before, and is used to extraordinary effect in differentiating the atmosphere of the three states of being in the poem.
Blake's illustrations of the poem are not merely accompanying works, but rather seem to critically revise, or furnish commentary on, certain spiritual or moral aspects of the text. Because the project was never completed due to his death in 1827, Blake's intent may itself be obscured. Blake clearly relished the opportunity to represent the atmosphere and imagery of Dante's work pictorially. Even as he seemed to near death, Blake's central preoccupation was his feverish work on the illustrations to Dante's Inferno; he is said to have spent one of the very last shillings he possessed on a pencil to continue.
Hell (Inferno) - Canto 31 - Antaeus, the son of Gaea and Poseidon sets Dante and Virgil down in the Last Circle of Hell.
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**the giclee process produces a superior quality, fine art reproduction from a high-resolution digital file of an image. The file is then printed with a high-resolution photo generation printer on a fine art paper. Most artists and working photographers today use the giclee process to produce reproductions of their original artwork and photographs.
As with any original art or fine art reproduction, it is recommended that prints are framed and displayed under glass to prevent color fade or shift over the years.
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