Thenot and Colinet Lead Their Flocks Together, from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil"
Original title: Thenot and Colinet Lead Their Flocks Together, from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil"
kurzbeschreibung
Two shepherds drive their flocks through a rural setting. William Blake made this wood engraving in 1821 for Robert John Thornton's edition of Virgil's Pastorals. The print measures just 3.7 by 7.8 cm.
Description
On the left stands a man with long curls and a loose robe; on the right, a bearded companion in similar dress. Both hold a staff. Behind them appear a house, a fence, trees, and a hill. The small image is in black and white, with the linear structure typical of wood engraving.
Context
Blake contributed this illustration to Robert John Thornton's school edition of Virgil's Pastorals, published in 1821. In his later years he devoted himself increasingly to wood engraving. The tiny dimensions of 3.7 by 7.8 cm match the conventions of book illustration at the time.
Impact
Delicate lines and a calm pastoral mood define this miniature graphic. Though only a few centimeters in size, the print gains surprising depth and invites close looking.
Technique
For this wood engraving, the design is cut into a woodblock and then printed on paper. This allows fine details and a clear black-and-white reproduction, as was common for nineteenth-century book illustrations.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)