WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827)
WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827)
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WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827)

The Pastorals of Virgil: Four Plates

Details
WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827)
The Pastorals of Virgil: Four Plates
wood-engraving, on two joined sheets of wove paper, without watermark, circa 1821, a rare first-state proof of the woodblock before it was divided, a fine, richly inked impression, with margins, framed
Image overall: 6 x 3 ½ in. (152 x 89 mm.)
Sheet: 6 3⁄8 x 3 7⁄8 in. (162 x 98 mm.)
Literature
The Engraved Designs of William Blake, Binyon, 138-41; Blake Books, Bentley, 504; The Complete Graphic Works of William Blake, Bindman, 603-606
Further details
The four plates are: Thenot remonstrates with Colinet (B. 603); Thenot under fruit tree (B. 604); Thenot remonstrates with Colinet, Lightfoot in background (B. 605); and Colinet departs in sorrow: 'riven trunk' at right (B. 606)

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Nathalie Ferneau
Nathalie Ferneau Head of Sale, Junior Specialist

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Lot Essay

In 1820 Blake was commissioned by Dr. Thornton, presumably through an introduction by John Linnell, to provide a number of illustrations engraved on both copper and on wood for the third edition (1821) of his educational work on The Pastorals of Virgil. Blake used a new method of wood engraving, cutting with the grain rather than against it, which allowed for more expressive lines, however, the blocks that Blake submitted were derided by the other illustrators participating in the project and it was only through the intervention of artists such as Linnell, Thomas Lawrence, James Ward and others that Thornton was persuaded to accept Blake's illustrations. However, without reference to Blake, the blocks were substantially if not brutally reduced to fit the book. The present example, one of an exceptionally small number of sheets printed from the block before it was divided into its four elements, was originally owned by his close friend Linell, and was presumably a gift from the older artist, perhaps in gratitude for Linnell's support.

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