William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an
English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his
lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry
and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His visual artistry led 21st-century
critic Jonathan Jones to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist
Britain has ever produced”. In 2002, Blake was placed at number 38 in the BBC's
poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. He produced a diverse and symbolically rich work
of art, which embraced the imagination as "the body of God" or
"human existence itself".
William Blake was born in London on November 28, 1757, to
James, a hosier, and Catherine Blake. From early childhood, Blake spoke of
having visions—at four he saw God "put his head to the window";
around age nine, while walking through the countryside, he saw a tree filled
with angels. Although his parents tried to discourage him from
"lying," they did observe that he was different from his peers and
did not force him to attend conventional school. He learned to read and write
at home. At age ten, Blake expressed a wish to become a painter, so his parents
sent him to drawing school. Two years later, Blake began writing poetry. When
he turned fourteen, he apprenticed with an engraver because art school proved
too costly. One of Blake's assignments as apprentice was to sketch the tombs at
Westminster Abbey, exposing him to a variety of Gothic styles from which he
would draw inspiration throughout his career. After his seven-year term ended,
he studied briefly at the Royal Academy.
In 1782, he married an illiterate woman named Catherine
Boucher. Blake taught her to read and to write, and also instructed her in
draftsmanship. Later, she helped him print the illuminated poetry for which he
is remembered today; the couple had no children.
Blake's final years, spent in great poverty, were cheered by
the admiring friendship of a group of younger artists who called themselves
"the Ancients." In 1818 he met John Linnell, a young artist who
helped him financially and also helped to create new interest in his work. It
was Linnell who, in 1825, commissioned him to design illustrations for Dante's
Divine Comedy, the cycle of drawings that Blake worked on until his death in
1827.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake
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