William Blake was ahead of his time– from his indignation at the treatment of poor children and black slaves to his unconventional views on religion and politics. Yet the innovation of Blake’s artistic works is generally overlooked in comparison to that of his literary works. Perhaps it is because Blake’s engaging style of writing so deeply engrosses readers that they often forget the significance of Blake’s visual elements. Even in the study of art history, students who examine the Romantic Age are so preoccupied with Blake’s mainstream contemporaries that they rarely analyze his works at the same level of detail. With the exception of a few enthusiasts, the general public is much more familiar with Blake the poet than Blake the artist. Whatever the reason, the result is a lopsided view of a multitalented individual whose visual creations are just as original as his poems. Therefore, by analyzing one of Blake’ more obscure works, The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun, one can gain a fresh insight on Blake’s artistic ingenuity. Whether a piece of art is contemporary or as old as Blake’s, it shares many common features to consider when studying it. In the introduction to her art history textbook, Marilyn Stockstad writes “The work of art historians can be divided into four types of investigation: 1. assessment of physical properties, 2. analysis of visual or formal structure, 3. identification of subject matter or conventional symbolism, 4. integration within cultural context,” (Stockstad, xxvii). The physical properties and formal structure of The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun show Blake’s ability to envision a fantastical scene with astounding detail. This watercolor painting shows th... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Blake, William. The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun. Ca. 1803-1805. Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway Brooklyn, New York 11238-6052. Www.brooklynmuseum.org. Brooklyn Museum. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. . Hilton, Adrian, Thomas Gentils, and Daniel Beresford. Virtual People: Capturing 3D Articulated Models of Individual People. Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing. IEE. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. . Revelation (also Apocalypse). Www.biblos.com. Web. 19 Oct. 2010. . Stokstad, Marilyn. "Introduction." Introduction. Art History. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2008. Xxvii. Print.
Gardner, Helen, and Richard G. Tansey. Gardner's Art through the Ages. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace College, 1996. Print.
Stokstad, M., & Cothren, M. W. (2008). Art history: Volume 1 (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall. Print.
Cothren, M. & Marilyn Stokstad. (2011). Art History, Volume 2, 4th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Learning Solutions.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York: Prentice Hall Inc. and Harry N. Abrams Inc. 1995.
Mr. Vickers created this work by using oil paint on a canvas. His strokes follow the luminist style of hidden strokes with mixed hues. The subject is stated obviously in the title as the work is about the serene and beautiful view of the River Severn as it continues towards a mountainous backdrop and eventually disappears.
Goldwater, Robert and Marco Treves (eds.). Artists on Art: from the XIV to the XX Century. New York: Pantheon Books, 1945.
William Blake is remembered by his poetry, engravements, printmaking, and paintings. He was born in Soho, London, Great Britain on November 28, 1757. William was the third of seven siblings, which two of them died from infancy. As a kid he didn’t attend school, instead he was homeschooled by his mother. His mother thought him to read and write. As a little boy he was always different. Most kids of his age were going to school, hanging out with friends, or just simply playing. While William was getting visions of unusual things. At the age of four he had a vision of god and when he was nine he had another vision of angles on trees.
Gardner, Helen, and Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. N.p., 2014. Print.
Nash, Susan. Oxford History of Art: Norther Renaissance Art. 2nd. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. 30-65. eBook.
William Blake was a modern thinker with a recalcitrant political spirit. He used poetry and art as sociopolitical weapons, which were raised boldly against the establishment. These sociopolitical weapons, which began with him, are still used today in all types of artistic and political activities. Although known as a madman and a mystic, (Elliott) his art and his poetry were guided by the visions of radical change. Even today, his work is both relevant and profound. The brilliant approach he took with difficult political and moral topics created unique artistic representations that are very much as relevant today as they were when Blake first adopted their use.
The theme of authority is possibly the most important theme and the most popular theme concerning William Blake’s poetry. Blake explores authority in a variety of different ways particularly through religion, education and God. Blake was profoundly concerned with the concept of social justice. He was also profoundly a religious man. His dissenting background led him to view the power structures and legalism that surrounded religious establishments with distrust. He saw these as unwarranted controls over the freedom of the individual and contrary to the nature of a God of liberty. Figures such as the school master in the ‘schoolboy’, the parents in the ‘chimney sweeper’ poems, the guardians of the poor in the ‘Holy Thursday’, Ona’s father in ‘A Little girl lost’ and the priestly representatives of organised religion in many of the poems, are for Blake the embodiment of evil restriction.
Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective. Vol 2.13th ed. Boston: Wadsworth/ Cengage Learning, 2010.
Janson, Harry W. History of Art. 5th Ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1995. Print.
Kleiner, Fred. Gardner's Art Through the Ages: A Global History. International ed edition. Wadsworth, January 2008.
‘The representation of the human form likewise served to stress essential data about the subject. The shoulders are nearly in frontal view to show the width of the body and not obscure the far arm, while the chest was represented in profile to show its contour…....