DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.31843#0044
ENGRAVED DESIGNS OF WILLIAM BLAKE
not regard any copy as finished till he had coloured it throughout. His
methods of colouring varied, as we have seen, from liquid transparent
washes to deep-toned and opaque colour. But even among copies coloured
in the same technique the variations are great; especially in the Songs
of Innocence and of Experience, of which more copies are extant than of
the other books, and the finishing of which was done at widely different
dates. Some, too, were coloured by Mrs. Blake.
Tastes will differ as to whether the transparent or the opaque colouring
is the more successful. Personally, I think the opaque colouring is
generally the happier, because it seems to accord better with the character
of the text. When transparent washes are applied to the rather rude
foundation of printed design there is a certain lack of congruity ; we wish
that the outline had been more delicate, or the tinting of a stronger texture.
Besides, the light wash of water-colour does not perfectly harmonize with
the printed outline, and its firm indentation of the paper. The opaque
colour had a printed character, and in the most successful pages the effect
is all of a piece. As a perfectly happy example of the opaque colouring,
I would instance the page from the Songs of Experience reproduced on
Plate 45. I have not seen any transparent-coloured copy of this page
which equals it.
But, of course, there is a very great variation in the transparent-coloured
copies of the books. When Blake gave much time and trouble to the
work, he produced a beautifully finished page. In his later years he seems
to have been fond of a more elaborate colouring, and used gold to heighten
his effects.
The unique coloured copy of Jerusalem, from which, through the kind-
ness of its owner, General Archibald Stirling of Keir, I have been per-
mitted to present a number of reproductions in this book, is an example
of Blake’s latest method of colouring. The other known copies of Jeru-
salem are printed in black or a chocolate brown. Perhaps Blake used
black when he despaired of finding a purchaser for a coloured copy; for
General Stirling's copy is printed in a light orange-red, which did not
make the foundation design too emphatic, and on which he could complete
the colour-design more freely, often modifying it very considerably in so
doing.
The Songs of Innocence is, as a book, the happiest combination of text,
ornament, and illustration that Blake ever produced. Blake’s demonic
and visionary power is not yet developed; the pages are at peace with
themselves. But already we find the spontaneous invention overflowing
24
not regard any copy as finished till he had coloured it throughout. His
methods of colouring varied, as we have seen, from liquid transparent
washes to deep-toned and opaque colour. But even among copies coloured
in the same technique the variations are great; especially in the Songs
of Innocence and of Experience, of which more copies are extant than of
the other books, and the finishing of which was done at widely different
dates. Some, too, were coloured by Mrs. Blake.
Tastes will differ as to whether the transparent or the opaque colouring
is the more successful. Personally, I think the opaque colouring is
generally the happier, because it seems to accord better with the character
of the text. When transparent washes are applied to the rather rude
foundation of printed design there is a certain lack of congruity ; we wish
that the outline had been more delicate, or the tinting of a stronger texture.
Besides, the light wash of water-colour does not perfectly harmonize with
the printed outline, and its firm indentation of the paper. The opaque
colour had a printed character, and in the most successful pages the effect
is all of a piece. As a perfectly happy example of the opaque colouring,
I would instance the page from the Songs of Experience reproduced on
Plate 45. I have not seen any transparent-coloured copy of this page
which equals it.
But, of course, there is a very great variation in the transparent-coloured
copies of the books. When Blake gave much time and trouble to the
work, he produced a beautifully finished page. In his later years he seems
to have been fond of a more elaborate colouring, and used gold to heighten
his effects.
The unique coloured copy of Jerusalem, from which, through the kind-
ness of its owner, General Archibald Stirling of Keir, I have been per-
mitted to present a number of reproductions in this book, is an example
of Blake’s latest method of colouring. The other known copies of Jeru-
salem are printed in black or a chocolate brown. Perhaps Blake used
black when he despaired of finding a purchaser for a coloured copy; for
General Stirling's copy is printed in a light orange-red, which did not
make the foundation design too emphatic, and on which he could complete
the colour-design more freely, often modifying it very considerably in so
doing.
The Songs of Innocence is, as a book, the happiest combination of text,
ornament, and illustration that Blake ever produced. Blake’s demonic
and visionary power is not yet developed; the pages are at peace with
themselves. But already we find the spontaneous invention overflowing
24