Image series 36 / 2024: William Blake
Mystical Works
The pictorial worlds of the English artist William Blake around 1800 are characterised by visions, spirituality and mysticism, as he was fascinated by legends and myths and drew inspiration from the Bible. There are many intoxicating drawings and etchings, colourful, full of beings, creatures and figures of light. With his new printing technique, relief etching, he was also able to print texts on his pictures.
Around 90 of William Blake’s works in the exhibition show his oeuvre, which he created against the backdrop of revolution and war in Europe, slavery in the European colonies and oppression in his native Great Britain.
„William Blake‘s Universe“
14 June to 8 September 2014, Hamburger Kunsthalle
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William Blake. La mort du mauvais homme, Ausschnitt, 18th century – 19th century, black ink, watercolourpen, pencil, 202 mm x 255 mm, Paris; RMN Musée Du Louvre, Réunion des musées nationaux
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William Blake. Glad Day or The Dance of Albion, Ausschnitt, 1780 / 1794-96, kolorierter Kupferstich, 27,3 × 19,5 cm, London; IKARE, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle, Institut für Kunstgeschichte und Archäologien Europas, Zentralbibliothek
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William Blake La danse de Obéron, Titania et Puck avec les fées, Ausschnitt, ca. 1785, Dessin, crayon, aquarelle sur papier, 48 × 68 cm, London; Iconothèque, Université de Genève, Bibliothèque d’art et d’archéologie
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William Blake. Am Anfang aller Tage oder Die Erschaffung des Universums, Ausschnitt, 1794 / 1827, 23,4 × 16,8 cm, Manchester; ResourceSpace, Universität Passau, Lehrstuhl für Kunstgeschichte und Bildwissenschaften
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William Blake. God Judging Adam, Ausschnitt, ca. 1795, Relief etching, printed in color and finished with pen and ink and watercolor, 42,5 × 52,7,cm, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art
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William Blake. Der große rote Drache und die Frau, mit der Sonne bekleidet, Ausschnitt, 1803 – 1805, Feder, Aquarell, Grafit, eingeschnittene Linien, 43,7 × 34,8 cm, New York City; ConedaKOR, Universität des Saarlandes, Fachrichtung Kunst- und Kulturwissenschaft