William Blake: The Age of Romantic Fantasy opens today at The National Gallery of Ireland. The loan exhibition from Tate presents a selection of Blake’s most iconic works of art, alongside paintings and drawings by his contemporaries, and offers a rare opportunity in Ireland to encounter one of the most visionary figures in art and literature.
William Blake (1757-1827) is a singular force in the history of art. Poet, painter and printmaker, he created a visionary universe of mythic beings and prophetic scenes, exploring heaven and hell through a language entirely his own. In a world shaped by revolution and social upheaval Blake and his peers pushed art into bold new territories using the power of the creative imagination.
Wildly unconventional in terms of both technique and thought, Blake developed a distinctive visual language to explore opposing forces of creation and destruction, reason and imagination. His inventive works have resonated far beyond his own era. Blake’s influence continues to echo through contemporary culture, inspiring musicians such as U2, Bob Dylan and Patti Smith; filmmakers including Ridley Scott and Martin Scorsese; writers from J.G. Ballard to Allen Ginsberg; and designers such as Una Burke, whose work features in a special three-piece collaboration accompanying the exhibition in the Gallery’s gift shop. The show runs until July 19.
