A Biography of William Blake

William Blake was born the 28th of November, 1757 in Golden Square, London, England. He was the son of James and Catherine, and the third of seven children in this middle class family. He had one sister and six brothers, two of whom died at infancy.

From as early as four years of age Blake experienced visions of ghostly monks and angels. He saw and had conversations with the angel Gabriel, the Virgin Mary and many other historical figures. His parents noticed he was different from his other peers and did not make him go to a conventional school. Instead he was educated at home by his mother.

In 1767, at the age of ten, Blake told his parents that he wanted to paint. He was then enrolled in Henry Par's drawing school, in London. Blake's main works at the school were drawings copies of plaster casts from ancient sculptures. He also painted with his imagination, that his visions ignited.

At the age of fourteen art school was costing to much. Blake became apprenticed to James Basire, engraver to the society of Antiquaries and the Royal Society. While with Basire, Blake made monuments and tombs in Westminister. It is said that this is were he got his taste for Gothic art.

After seven years, in 1779, Blake became an engraving student at the Royal Academy. Here he was associated with John Flaxman, as well as Henri Fuselia and Thomas Stohard. He was employed as an engraver for a local bookseller, and he continued to earn a living from contracted engravings.

In 1782, William Blake married Catherine Sophia Boucher, a daughter of a market gardener and an illiterate whom he taught to read and write. Catherine later helped him print the poetry he is remembered for today. The couple had no children.

In 1784, with former fellow apprentice and friend, John Flaxman, Blake opened up a print shop. He also began teaching his younger brother Robert in engraving, drawing and painting. Robert fell ill in the winter of 1787 and died. Blake's print shop failed not long after.

Laker Blake claimed that Robert had visited him in a dream and taught him the printing method that he used in "Songs of Innocence" and the "Illuminated" works. Using acid resistant ink and quill pens, he wrote his poetry onto copper plates and added illustrations. The plates were then put into an acid bath that etched away any surface not covered in ink. After the printing was done, Blake and Catherine would had color the illustrations and pages, and sewed them together. Blake called these "Illuminated Books".

Blake moved to the seacoast town of Falphan, in 1800. Here he lived and worked under the patronage of William Hayley. In August of 1803 Blake removed a drunk soldier, John Scofield, from his garden in Felphan. Scofield claimed in his testimony that Blake "damned the King and said that soldiers were all slaves". Blake was charged with high treason and put on trial at Chichester. Soon after Blake was acquitted and he moved back to London.

In 1808, Blake exhibited some of his watercolors at the Royal Academy. In May of 1809, he exhibited his works at his brother James's house. Some praised his artistry, others thought the paintings were hideous and more called him insane.

He was mentioned in "A Biographical Dictionary of the Living Authors of Great Britain and Ireland," published in 1816. Samuel Taylor Coleridge considered Blake a "man of genius".

In 1815 Blake met John Linnell. A young artist who helped Blake financially and to create a new interest in his work. Linnell, in 1825, commissioned Blake to design illustrations for Dante's "Divine Comedy," as well as the famous illustrations for the book of "Job". These he worked on until his death from failing health on the 12th of August, 1827. It is said his last drawing was a portrait of his wife Catherine, drawn on his deathbed.

1783: Poetical Sketches
1788: All Religions are one
1788: There is no Natural Religion
1789: Songs of Innocence
1790: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
1793: America, a Prophecy
1793: For Children: The Gates of Paradise
1793: Visions of the Daughters of Albion
1794: Europe, a Prophecy
1794: Songs of Experience
1794: The First Book of Urizen
1795: The Book of Ahania
1795: The Book of Los
1795: The Song of Los
1820: For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise

Referance:
John Simkin, www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRblake.htm, William Blake
www.kirjasto.sci.fi/wblake.htm, Willaim Blake (1757-1827)
www.newi.ac.uk/rdover/blake/Life.htm, William Blake (1757-1827): Life and Times