William Black was Britain's first major Romantic poet and artist. As a poet, his Song of Innocence and Experience is juxtaposed with Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton; as a painter, his Illustrations of job are comparable to Michelangelo's frescoes. Throughout his life, he lived a simple and peaceful creative life with his wife, relying on the remuneration of painting and engraving. It was not until later that the poet Yeats and others re-compiled his poetry collection that people were amazed by his genius.
In the 18th century, when rationality was supreme and imagination was barren, Blake wrote ideals and life with fresh ballads and unrestrained rhymes, creating a precedent for Romantic poetry. His art is characterized by a strong Christian philosophy, permeated with implicit ideals of salvation. However, during his lifetime, he was regarded as a "madman" by his contemporaries because of his maverick behavior. In the recently published Biography of William Blake, scholar Catherine Lane points out that Blake's artwork is based on traditional myths and symbols, a style that has remained unchanged throughout his long career. He shaped a system of universal wisdom that invited the viewer to participate in imaginary worlds created in paintings, poetry, and prints. "Blake's unique greatness lies not in each of his individual accomplishments, but in all he is, more than the sum of everything he does."
Blake believed that the purpose of poetry and art was to awaken memories, i.e., platonic memories. He constantly calls to the "sleeping people" to wake up, the "dead people" to rise, the "cave people" to break his shackles and see the eternal things. "If a man does not imagine with a more powerful, more perfect silhouette, a stronger, more beautiful light than what his mortal eye can see, he is not imagining at all." Blake believes that the world's greatest art depicts the perfect things imagined.
In His Biography of William Black, Wren reveals the passion that pervades Black's art and his ability to depict a world that "has its own reality, consistency, environment, and atmosphere." Authorized by the publisher, Interface Culture (ID: BooksAndFun) excerpts Wren's commentary on Black's work from different periods to present the diverse and complex Pantheon he created.
William Blake's Biography
Catherine Lane by Zhang Xingwen translated by Liu Wenyu
Shanghai Bebet | Guangxi Normal University Press 2022-011. "Song of Innocence"
Seeing a world in a grain of sand,
Seeing heaven in a wildflower,
Master infinity in the palm of your hand
Keep eternity in an hour.
— "Grass with Echoes" by William Black
Sand, wildflowers, caterpillars, grasshoppers, nightingales, robins... Blake is not only good at portraying these tiny things as unique and fascinating, but also strives to reveal and affirm the "ubiquitous sanctity of life" that exists in them. This is "small in the big", and the highest symbol of "small in the big" is Jesus. In Blake's view, Newton's vast picture of the universe does not set off the smallness of life and overwhelms human dignity, on the contrary, infinity and eternity are in the palm of our hands.
The childhood depicted in 1789's Song of Innocence was, for Black, a state of life that was "pure," "clear," and "unhindered," rather than "inexperienced and ignorant." Beneath these simple forms of poetry lies a wealth of imagination, philosophical wisdom, and the power of life.
2. "Song of Experience"
Every cry of every adult,
Every toddler screams of fear,
In every voice, in every prohibition
I hear the shackles of the heart.
— London by William Blake
"Naivety" and "experience" are often mistaken for opposing poles, when this is not the case. If the "innocence" symbolized by the child is a clear and unhindered life, then the "experience" represented by the "old ignorant" refers to the state of life that is hindered, denied and suppressed. "Negation is not opposition," Blake emphasized the distinction between the two.
The Song of Experience writes about the negation of life in all its forms: unrequited unrequited unrequited love, childhood under the shroud of sick thoughts, spiritual sacrifice to morality... The poem "London" points to the injustice of society and the barbarism of the city— the false prohibition of weaving cobwebs, entangling simple life and soul tightly to form "shackles cast by the mind".
3. Marriage in Heaven and Hell
If the door of the senses is purified, then everything will be revealed in its true form: infinity.
Since man encloses himself, he can only see everything from the narrow crevices of his cave.
— The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake, translated by Zhu Yu
Blake, once a republican in a red soft hat, saw revolution as an expression of freedom and the spirit of life, as "an expression of the irrepressible energy of life." The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, with its anti-lyrical stylistic form and fiery engraving colors, shows great power and reflects the idea of "hell, or energy." "Energy is eternal joy... If it is set free, life is gentle and loving; if it is hindered, life is rebellious and violent. ”
4. "Mercy"
If by means of assassination one can grasp the result of happiness; if this knife is cut down, everything can be completed, everything can be ended, everything can be solved--in this human world, only in this human world, on the rapids of time, then I will not be able to take care of the next life. But in such things we can often see the judge in the darkness; the one who instigates the murder, who instead ends up being killed by others; the one who throws poison into the wine glass will end up drinking and dying himself... "Mercy" is like a naked baby floating in the fierce wind, and like a baby who walks in defiance, he will expose this abominable act to everyone's eyes, and make the tears drown his sighs. There is no force that can spur me forward, but my eager ambition is desperate to drive me to the risk of bumps.
— Macbeth [English] by William Shakespeare, translated by Zhu Shenghao
In 1795, Blake innovated painting techniques and created a series of experimental works, including Macbeth, one of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. Macbeth, who was about to seize the throne, was full of hesitation and contradictions in his heart. He said: "Mercy is like a newborn floating in the fierce wind with a red stripe, and like a baby who walks in the air, he will expose this abomination to everyone's eyes, and make the tears flood the wind." In Blake's painting, a figure on a white horse "mercifully" sweeps across the night sky, compassionately greeting the life of a mother who has just given birth. The mother is lying weakly on the earth, while the little life is leaping energetically into the arms of "mercy". The endless night in the background is quiet, mysterious and deep, as if to contain all happiness and sadness, luck and misfortune.
5. "Milton"
If only those holy feet of antiquity
Once wandered the mountains of England;
If it were the Lamb of God
Been to the happy ranches of England!
That sacred face was unforgettable
Illuminating the mountains in our clouds?
Jerusalem may have been built in these
Between the dimly lit Satan's mills?
Bring me my shining golden bow,
Bring me the arrow of my desire,
Bring me spears and spread the clouds!
Bring me my chariot of fire!
I will not stop fighting within,
Nor will my sword sleep peacefully in my hands,
Until we have established Jerusalem,
Verdant and happy ground in England.
— Milton's Prologue by William Black
The poem "Milton" is the result of Blake's long life's labor. He reads extensively, maintaining a constant observation of man and nature. The success of his great poetry stems from years of diligent accumulation. Compared with Jerusalem, milton's poems are grand in theme, but more beautiful than beautiful; the prints in Milton are more exquisite than magnificent.
For Blake, Milton is the epitome of the "inspired man." Their lifelong, close friendship is the best embodiment of his appreciation for Milton.
6. Jerusalem
In Fairpolm I heard and saw Albion's vision
I wrote about my presence in the realm of humanity on South Malton Street,
What to see and hear on the open streets of London.
— Jerusalem: The Overflowing Body of the Giant Albion by William Blake
Returning to London from Fairpolm marked the 45-year-old Blake's sincerity as an artist after a struggle of ideas that finally overwhelmed the temptations of material gain and the discipline of practical responsibility. In the years that followed, Blake's material life was barren, but his spiritual life was rich and abundant. He diligently and passionately completed the poem "Jerusalem" and its prints, from which the gloomy magnificence of London can be glimpsed. The "vision" described in the poem "appears in Blake's mind like a dream with a single symbolic plot or image". The print pages are in the black style, with a slightly outlined linear form that blends as a writing technique with a written manuscript, "these magnificent, grotesque or lovely expressions depict the inner state of the soul." ”
7. Illustrations of the Book of Job
Like Bach's Mass in B minor or Shakespeare's King Lear, the Illustrations of job are Blake's enduring masterpieces and the crowning masterpieces of engraving art. In 1812, at the age of 65, Blake was commissioned by Linnell to create this great work. It is not only an illustration of the Bible, it is a vision or revelation in itself, containing Blake's overall knowledge of Christian Kabbalah philosophy, Neoplatonism, and the Western mystic tradition. Ruskin praised the Book of Job: "In terms of reimagining and expressing certain characteristics, it is the top. In the method of obtaining certain light effects... In terms of expressing dazzling and flickering light, Blake is greater than Rembrandt. ”
8. "The Sea of Time and Space"
Walk to the deep and wide cave, the hair is beautiful
The fairy's home, found she was inside.
A raging firewood burned in the hearth, fluttering everywhere
The aroma of split cedar and cypress pervades the entire building
Inter-island. The fairy was singing, opening her sweet voice,
Walking back and forth along the loom, weaving with a gold shuttle.
The cave is surrounded by lush woods and is full of life
Alder trees, and poplars and incense-scented cypresses,
The trees are nested with birds, with slender wings,
Water birds with small owls, falcons and rappers,
Predatory cormorants, following the waves.
The edge of the cave entrance is crawling with green vines,
Hanging bunches of sweet grapes;
Four streams spit out shiny clean water,
In rows, next to each other, flowing water in different directions; and that
Surrounded by grass, the new pine is crisp and soft, and there are parsley and parsley all over the place
Violet - this scene, even the gods who come,
After seeing it, I will also appreciate it and be full of joy.
——"Odyssey" by Homer translated by Chen Zhongmei
The Sea of Time and Space is an illustration created by Blake in 1821 for Pophilist neoplatonic mythological work The Cave of the Fairies in the Woods. "The Cave of the Fairy in the Woods" is a passage from Homer's Odyssey, in which the main characters are Odysseus and Athena, the divine wisdom— Odysseus kneels on the shore and throws the borrowed belt back to Lucottia, the goddess of the sea; Athena stands behind her, pointing to heaven, from where the soul enters the earth. The Sea of Time and Space is a beautiful example of Blake's late style.
9. Dante's Avatar
Even though you are worshipped, take Jesus and jehovah's
The name of the Divine, you still are
Tired nights fade after the son of the early morning
The dream of a lost traveler under the hills
—William Blake
Blake criticized Dante's cruelty—a criticism not directed at the Catholic faith, but at his sense of revenge. "Where Dante saw the devil I didn't see anything." He said. In Blake's tempera painting of Dante's head for Haley's library, the shackles are on the left and The scene on the right is of Ugolino and her sons in prison. The text of the painting reads: "Oh Father, will your God take revenge like this?" ”
The illustrations for Dante's work were completed by Blake on his deathbed. Blake was "67 years old, but not lazy, but sitting on a bed covered with books, working diligently, like an ancient and respected elder, or Michelangelo on his deathbed." In this way, he created his greatest design for Dante on the pages of a huge workbook..."
Excerpts and images from the book "The Commentary of William Black" are published with the permission of the publisher.