William Blake

William Blake was a
revolutionary poet and artist: "I know myself both Poet &
Painter", he wrote. In his paintings he created visionary images that
challenge conventional perceptions; in his poetry he joined words and images in
the stunning form of the 'illuminated book', where verbal and visual depictions
interact. As a Romantic poet and religious visionary, he questioned Romantic
assumptions and rewrote Biblical tradition in a radical mythology for his own
historical moment. He welcomed the eruption of the French Revolution and
attacked Britain's wars against Revolutionary France, assaulting the social
injustices of his day and critiquing the politics and psychology of power.
Steve Vine's study introduces the full range of Blake's poetry and illuminated
books from the early Songs to the late epics, and focuses on the socially
radical and challenging nature of his art: on Blake's attempts to open the
'doors of perception' beyond limiting visions and ideologies—to what he
called 'the infinite'.