William Blake has been in vogue of late. In 2024 a show organised by Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge explored his engagement with the political tumult of his era; last year the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven shone a light on his vividly illustrated hand-painted books. Now, a touring show comprising works from the Tate’s collection, which began in Turin in 2024 and travelled to Budapest in 2025, is opening at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin (16 April–19 July). Displaying some 100 works alongside paintings by artists who inspired him (James Barry, Henry Fuseli) and those who were inspired by him (Turner, Francis Danby), the exhibition sets Blake’s art in the context of British Romanticism while also emphasising the singular nature of his creativity. Though much here is typically dark or menacing, there are memorable moments of lightness too, such as the enchanting watercolour Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing (c. 1786).
Find out more from the National Gallery of Ireland’s website.
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