Songs of Innocence: On Anothers Sorrow
Original title: Songs of Innocence: On Anothers Sorrow
kurzbeschreibung
'On Anothers Sorrow' belongs to William Blake's 'Songs of Innocence'. This particular copy was printed around 1825 as a relief etching in orange ink, then hand-colored with watercolor and shell gold.
Description
A framework of trees and leaves winds around the text, which occupies the middle section in an old English typeface and takes compassion as its theme. Blues, greens and oranges dominate the palette and convey a calm mood. There are no figures or objects, only plant forms and letters.
Context
The 'Songs of Innocence' first appeared in 1789 among Blake's self-printed and colored illuminated books. The sheet shown here is a later impression from the 1820s, when Blake reissued his works. With relief etching he had developed a method that combined text and image in a single printing pass.
Impact
The ornamental border and calligraphic lettering give the sheet a contemplative, almost intimate air. Delicate colors and precise lines create an atmosphere of quiet devotion that supports the poem's message of empathy.
Technique
Printing was done by relief etching: the non-printing areas were etched away, and the raised lines took up the ink. The orange ink went onto paper, followed by hand-coloring with watercolor and shell gold. In this way Blake could control the interplay of text and image precisely.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)