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William Blake |
Like Walt Whitman and E. E. Cummings a century later, William Blake had no peers. He was not a part of any group but followed his own visions throughout his life. Home schooled and known only to a few artists, Blake’s ecstatic awareness of heaven, of mythological creatures, and of God himself was translated into engravings and poetry that went far beyond the current style.
His brilliant etchings and watercolors on mostly religious themes were scorned as radical, and even his best friends called him mad. He was fiercely resistant to authority and materialism in all its forms, and so poor that his wife could not afford a headstone for his grave. Yet through his extraordinary individualism, he inspired and endowed generations of visionary artists to come.
How Sweet I Roamed from Field to Field
London
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Immortal Poets: Their Lives and Verse, by Christopher Burns |