Songs of Innocence: Title Page
Original title: Songs of Innocence: Title Page
kurzbeschreibung
William Blake's title page for "Songs of Innocence" was printed in relief etching around 1825 and coloured by hand with watercolour and shell gold. The book's title appears inside a frame crowded with blossoms, and below it a woman sits with two children in a peaceful landscape.
Description
The words "Songs of Innocence" run through an ornamental border threaded with flowers. Beneath this, three figures rest: a woman in a blue dress holding a book and turning toward two children in pinkish garments. A tree with branches and fruit rises at one side, and behind it a landscape opens under a sky of shifting hues. At the lower edge the name "W. Blake" is enclosed in another wreath of flowers.
Context
"Songs of Innocence" first appeared in 1789; this copy comes from a printing around 1825. Blake devised relief etching so that poem and image could be joined in a single printing process. The collection sets out his vision of an ideal childhood shaped by spiritual purity.
Impact
Soft watercolour tones and the decorative border give the sheet a fairy-tale quality that is at the same time calm. The figures settle harmoniously into nature, which reinforces the idyll of innocence.
Technique
In relief etching the non-printing areas are eaten away; printing was done in orange-brown ink. Colours were then applied by hand in watercolour and shell gold, a gold pigment, so that each impression carries its own individual traits.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)