William Blake Dies

William Blake (1757-1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker whose visionary work stood apart from the artistic conventions of his time. He died in London in 1827, having lived in relative obscurity and poverty despite the originality of his achievement.

His illuminated books combined his own verse with hand-colored engravings, most famously in Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, which contrasted states of childlike wonder with the harsher knowledge of the adult world. He also produced longer prophetic works and striking illustrations for the Bible, Dante, and Milton.

Blake's intense spiritual imagination and rejection of orthodox thought won little recognition during his lifetime. In later generations he came to be regarded as a major figure of English Romanticism and one of the most singular artistic visionaries in British history.