William Blake

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title William Blake
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Kathleen Raine
SeriesWorld of Art
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:224
Dimensions(mm): Height 210,Width 150
Category/GenreArt and design styles - c 1800 to c 1900
Individual artists and art monographs
ISBN/Barcode 9780500204573
ClassificationsDewey:759.2
Audience
General
Edition Second edition
Illustrations 185 Illustrations, color

Publishing Details

Publisher Thames & Hudson Ltd
Imprint Thames & Hudson Ltd
Publication Date 22 August 2019
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Prophet, poet, painter, engraver - William Blake (1757-1827) was an artist of uniquely powerful 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 and accessible 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 work 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.

Author Biography

Kathleen Raine wrote a number of books of poetry, and her Collected Poems appeared in 2000. Her other books include From Blake to a Vision (1979), Blake and the New Age (1979), The Human Face of God: William Blake and the Book of Job and four volumes of autobiography.