Paul Mellon, who founded the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA), built up a formidable personal collection of paintings, prints, drawings and books by William Blake. The YCBA now holds some 900 works by the artist and poet, including the hand-printed books in which Blake paired his poems and prophecies with vivid illustrations. These works are the focus of this exhibition, which gives visitors a chance to see Blake’s innovative process of illuminated printing up close (26 August–30 November). The method involved imprinting poems and pictorial designs on the same copper plate, giving him total control over the placing of text and image. Many of the works – such as the only extant fully hand-coloured version of Blake’s epic poem Jerusalem: The Emanation of the Great Albion (1804–20) – are remarkable in their own right but are even more so when presented together, conveying the depth and range of Blake’s singular artistic vision.
Find out more from the Yale Center’s website.
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