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

Reviews
Times
Guardian 
Telegraph
Evening Standard



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thomas Becket: Murder and Making of a Saint

Image
Stunning exhibition at the British Museum on the life and afterlife of Thomas Becket. I studied Becket both at A Level and at university so I was really looking forward to this show and it did not disappoint. From walking in to see an old friend, the early Limoges casket showing the murder from the Victoria and Albert Museum, I was gripped. The show told the story well using fantastic objects and led you through his life, the murder, the political aftermath, his sainthood and miracles, and how Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site. It is hard to pick out the best objects as so many were wonderful. I loved that they had early copies of some of the five eyewitness accounts of the murder which made you fell you were almost touching the event. I liked the manuscript on his time in exile which was almost like a comic strip. How wonderful to get a 13th century font from Sweden which shows how far and how quickly the news that Henry II had integrated the murder spread. I think my...
Read more

Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Exhibition 2019

Image
Delightful exhibition at Clarendon Fine Art showing pictures from the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year TV series. I had loved the series which had set nine artists, both professional and amateur, to paint one of three celebrities. It then had a semi-final and final with them all looking at one sitter and in the final they also took on a commission. I loved the way you watched a picture build and how some were then made or spoiled by one stroke of paint.   Finding these pictures I knew so well in the flesh was therefore fascinating. None of them disappointed. My favourite artist from the final, Tom Mead, works looked just as good in real life if not better as you could see the detail. The show included his impressive self-portrait which he submitted to enter the competition, a wonderful fragmented picture of his reflection in a mirror giving a sense of movement. I loved that it included a large version of him and a miniature. His commission for the final of Jazzie B...
Read more

The Renaissance Nude

Image
Beautiful exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at the nude in Renaissance art. The show was gently themed but mainly let the pictures speak for themselves. It began by looking at the subjects, both religious and secular, which include nude figures then examined techniques and models used in these works, finishing by looking at more personal pictures. This is a period I’ve studied a lot so there were a lot of old friends and it was quite fun predicting what might appear. There were a few surprises too such as the rather surprising drawing of the Ecstatic Christ. I liked the fact the show included lots of different art forms not just paintings including sculpture, etchings, drawings and illuminated manuscripts. There were some fascinating hangs to draw comparisons particularly two sets of pictures by Giovanni Bellini and Hand Memling from almost exactly the same date. These were shown back to back in a display cabinet down the middle of one room. My favourite work was ...
Read more