William Blake

A poet, artist, and mystic, William Blake (1757-1827) is recognized as one of the singular individuals of his time, a key figure in the histories of both art and literature.

This lavishly illustrated volume offers an expansive survey of Blake's prolific visual output -- prints, illuminated books, drawings, and paintings -- and contains significant new research by Blake scholars.

It serves as the catalogue for the largest Blake exhibition ever mounted, which opened in Fall 2000 at Tate Britain, London, and comes to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in March 2001.

Novelist and biographer Peter Ackroyd examines Blake the man, while Marilyn Butler sets Blake in the context of the political and social upheavals of his time.

Other essays focus on how Blake's radical political views and innovative printmaking techniques combined in his wholly visionary art.

With a full chronology and a glossary of Blake's mythology and characters, this book will be invaluable for Blake's many fans.