A preraffaelita mozgalom angliai forrása William Blake próféciás miszticizmusa, - mint ahogy illusztrálja két műve, a Szerelmi forgószél és az Antik Nap - ő is az elveszett Éden után áhítozott, bár az ő művészete már a szimbolika előfutárának is tekinthető.
Források:
William Blake, a látnok
William Blake (1757-1827) is justly famous as one of the most original poets in the English language, but he was also one of England's most original graphic artists. Born poor, the son of a hosier, poverty dogged him most of his life, despite his skills as a master printer and engraver. Much of his work consists of illustrations for his own self-published volumes of poetry, and editions of classic works like "The Divine Comedy" and "Book of Job" (a sample of which are included here).
Ignored by critics during his lifetime, recognition of his poetry and art has grown steadily after his death. His work bears comparison to the Spaniard Goya, the other great visionary of the era which set in motion the social and economic forces which shaped today's world. Both had the genius to penetrate beneath the surface of things in ways that were sometimes prophetic. Goya's portraits reveal the character of the sitter -- he paints the Spanish royal family as a gang of inbred imbeciles doomed to extinction (and gets paid handsomely for it). His "Desastres de la Guerra" and "Los Caprichos" etchings foreshadow the horrors of "total war" and the modern unmasking of the ugliness often hidden beneath the veneer of social convention. His vision was a "public" one -- he saw what others saw but differently -- and that, along with his great graphic talent, assured him success (and a degree of toleration) during his lifetime. Blake was not so fortunate. His vision was an intensely "private," individual one, often recondite, sometimes bordering on the incomprehensible. Upon learning of his death, Wordsworth wrote: "There was no doubt that this poor man was mad, but there is something in the madness of this man which interests me more than the sanity of Lord Byron and Walter Scott." Today his vision of the human spirit liberating itself from its 'Self-Forg'd Manacles' is neither considered mad nor a strictly "private" one.
Blake's artistic career was long and productive. The 275 works selected here are only meant to give the viewer an idea of the range of his work and the extent of his vision. (As is MWW custom, they are arranged chronologically in the probable order of their execution.) Almost all of the entries contain background on the work in question in the commentary section to the right of the full-screen image, including the text of the poems, where needed. (Click "See More" to access these. Reading any one for a specific work will enhance your appreciation and understanding of it. Reading all of them will most likely make you as knowledgeable about Blake as if you had taken a university course on him.) There's also a lot of biographical information if you wish to know more about the life of this interesting artist. Plates from all of Blake's illustrations to his own works and those of others are included in this gallery. With the exception of those for Milton, they only constitute a sample. There will be two companion galleries to this one which will present the complete series of plates for all his major books of poetry, and his illustrations for the "Book of Job" and Dante's "Divine Comedy."
* Blake's Illustrations to Job & His Own Poetical Works
* Dante Illustrated I: William Blake & Salvador Dali
A Museum Without Walls Blake, a látnok című, 275 fényképet tartalmazó albuma: >>>
Antik Nap - Dec 03, 2015 11:9:57 PM
Szerelmi forgószél - Dec 03, 2015 11:10:36 PM