Awareness Post - William Blake

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman The Ghost of Samuel Appearing to Saul (1800)

Clothed with the Sun (1805-1810) Pen, Ink, Graphite, Watercolor

Ink, Watercolor.

https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-ghost-of-samuel-appearing-to-saul-william-blake/XwF8Uuspu3RlPw

https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.11502.html https://www.artfinder.com/blog/post/who-is-william-blake/#/

William Blake was an English artist best known for his whimsical, exaggerated watercolor work. His work went largely unnoticed during his lifetime, but posthumously, he is seen as a pioneer of romanticism and surrealism. He was educated at the Royal Academy of the Arts.

I really love the dull, faded colors of Blake's work. The glowy yellows used in "The The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun" are really gorgeous and help to put emphasis on the nearly holy nature of the woman, and the dull whites in "The Ghost of Samuel Appearing to Saul" work well to make Samuel appear more like an apparition. It's interesting to see how his choices of colors emphasize certain things in his pieces. My favorite thing about these is how whimsical and exaggerated these pieces are. It's interesting to see something not comtemporary have a cartoonish, contemporary style to it. I think semi-realistic yet exaggerated work would be interesting to try to replicate.

If I had to choose something which I don't like, it would be the clothing choices of the living men in "The Ghost of Samuel Appearing to Saul." I think that the clothes on Saul look somewhat silly in comparison to the tone of the rest of the piece since they're so close to his skin. I think just having the people as nude figures would keep the emphasis on Samuel and fix this issue.