Unyok'd Heifers, Loitering Homeward (Return of the Shepherd), from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil"
Original title: Unyok'd Heifers, Loitering Homeward (Return of the Shepherd), from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil"
kurzbeschreibung
Dating from 1821, this wood engraving by William Blake takes its subject from Thornton's 'Pastorals of Virgil'. Two cattle stand in the foreground, their heads turned to the left, where a herdsman with a staff appears. Rendered in black and white, delicate lines and hatching give the sheet its rural character.
Description
Two cattle stand side by side, both facing left, while at the left a man with a staff looks toward them. Horizontal strips suggest sky or landscape behind. The layout is plain and clear: figures and objects line up one after another. Because the print is monochrome, strong light-and-dark contrasts arise; fine lines and hatching shape the animals and their surroundings.
Context
In 1821 William Blake made this wood engraving for Robert John Thornton, who was bringing out an edition of Virgil's 'Pastorals'. Blake was 63 at the time and could look back on a long career as poet and artist. The Virgil illustrations count among his last major commissions, in which he used wood engraving as a means of book illustration.
Impact
The plain arrangement and fine hatching give the sheet a quiet, contemplative air. The strong contrast between light and dark passages produces an almost graphic clarity that emphasizes the stillness of the countryside. At only 3.3 x 7.6 cm, the small block demands close looking, in which Blake's precise hand becomes visible.
Technique
For this wood engraving the design was cut into a wood block and afterwards printed. Blake's fine lines and hatching show his assured command of a process otherwise used mostly for larger formats. The black-and-white execution heightens the contrasts and the graphic effect of the print.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)