ImagineFX - 10.2019

Behold the great dragon

Unearthly visions Truly original and a significant influence on fantasy art, William Blake is being

celebrated with a major new exhibition in London. Garrick Webster finds out what’s on show

London’s art scene is bracing itself as

a new William Blake exhibition opens

at Tate Britain on 11 September. Over

300 works by the painter, engraver

and poet are to go on display for the

five-month show, together with a

series of exhibits to emphasise

Blake’s relevance in the 21st century.

Often associated with patriotic

fervour due to his poem Jerusalem,

Blake was actually a maverick in his

day and regularly clashed with

authority. During the years of this life

• 1757 to 1827 – Britain was in a state of
  political and religious turmoil, while
  revolution raged in Europe and the US.
  This fed into his work, but he allowed
  his imagination to reign supreme and,

though often inspired by the Bible,

Shakespeare and Milton, his paintings

are dominated by spirits, visions and

holy characters of Blake’s own

invention. Works such as The Great

Red Dragon and the Beast from the

Sea, and The Ancient of Days are

among the paintings you’ll be able to

experience at Tate Britain.

The immediacy of Blake’s style is

what gives his work its impact, even if

you aren’t aware of the complex poetic

Thomas Phillips (1770-1845), William Blake (1807). National Portrait Gallery, London

Portrait of William Blake

in his late 40s, painted by

Thomas Phillips.

The Ancient of Days is one of Blake’s

best-recognised pieces, completed

from his deathbed in 1827.

and classical references that inspired

the artist. “That was something which

disturbed many of his contemporaries,

but it’s also his strength. It’s something

we want to emphasise in this show,

giving visitors a chance to

encounter his art in an

immediate and direct

way,” says Martin Myrone,

the lead curator of pre-

1800 British Art at Tate Britain.

PROJECTED ART

Despite his powerful compositions and

the radical posturing of his characters,

Blake never found public favour in his

lifetime. With this in mind, the Tate is

taking two images Blake intended

We want the show’s visitors

to encounter Blake’s art in an

immediate and direct way

William Blake, Europe Plate i: Frontispiece, The Ancient of Days (1827). The Whitworth, The University of Manchester

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