William Blake
Fantastic exhibition at Tate Britain looking at the life and work of William Blake.
I loved the fact
that this show looked at all aspects of Blake’s work including poetry, not just
the visual arts, and also discussed him as a business man. It gave an
interesting overview of life at the time in particular life in London.
It was
interesting that the introduction in the booklet did immediately say it wasn’t going
to try to explain the symbolism of the work other than quite broadly “instead
it considers the reception of his art and how it was experienced by his
contemporaries”. What a good decision as I suspect if they tried to explain the
symbolism I’d still be there!
The show felt
very comprehensive and I loved some of the detail, which reflected the detail
in his work, such as including a sketchbook by Edward Francis Burney, a
contemporary of Blake at the Royal Academy who sketched his friends at work, as
well as a sketch of a statue by Blake when he was there along with the statue
itself which the RA had lent.
I loved the
section on his print making as it gave such a good view of a man trying to make
a living off his work in Enlightenment London. It was thick with print and
great archive sources on their commissioning. It talked about his invention of
“relief etching”, which is still a mystery to us, but it allowed him to print
in colour and to combine pictures and prints. The show included some of his
books in which he engaged with contemporary issues.
Next it looked at
Blake’s two main patrons and how they gave him more independence also the
turbulent period during which he organised an independent but critical and
commercial disastrous exhibition in the room above his brother’ hosiery
business which is recreated in the show.
The show ended by
looking at that last 10 years of his life when he met a new group of artists
and had a last burst of creativity. He completed his last and most ambitious
book Jerusalem and found new purchasers for his older books.
I realise as I
finish this that I’ve not really said much about the art in the show but more
about Blake’s life. I found the art attractive but impenetrable which may be
its attraction. I can’t remember many images now, except of course this
wonderful dog from a print of the Canterbury Tales, but am still fascinated by
his life and techniques.
Closes 2
February 2020
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