Author Description

Published to accompany the largest Blake exhibition ever mounted, this catalogue displays the full range of his greatest works, focusing on his vision, his personal mythology, his political views and his highly idiosyncratic techniques.<br/><br/>Taking a fresh approach to the extraordinary breadth of his work, the book is divided into four thematic sections. An analysis of Blake's life-long interest in the Gothic, both as a source of his own distinctive style and as an ideal of spiritual and artistic integrity, leads into a study of his life in Lambeth during the 1790s, when his radical political interests and innovative printmaking techniques came together in a totally new visionary art. This is followed by an investigation into the sources from which he developed his ideas, language and images - including an explanation of the key characters that populated his imaginative universe. The final section unveils Blake's major illuminated books - including Songs of Innocence and Experience, Europe and Jerusalem - the culmination of his highly original vision.<br/><br/>In two opening essays Peter Ackroyd introduces Blake the man, exploring the apparent contradictions of his complex personality, while Marilyn Butler casts new light on Blake in the context of the social, cultural and literary environment of his time.