Poet, draughtsman, engraver and painter, William Blake's work is made up of several elements – Gothic art, Germanic reverie, the Bible, Milton and Shakespeare – to which were added Dante and a certain taste for linear designs, resembling geometric diagrams, and relates him to the great classical movement inspired by Winckelmann and propagated by David. This is the sole point of contact discernible between the classicism of David and English art,...

An original take on literary history that uses visual satire to explore literature's importance to eighteenth-century political culture The first in-depth analysis of the relationship between literature and visual satire in eighteenth-century Britain, this engaging study explores how the works of Shakespeare, Milton, Swift, and others were taken up by caricaturists as a means of helping the public make sense of political issues, outrages, and personalities....

"As the ultimate example of the Romantic artist, William Blake made radical developments in art technique to communicate his vision. However visual art was just one facet of his achievement. In his famous illuminated books, Blake combined painting, engraving and poetry, some of which are now the most famous in the English language. However, Blake's visual art can be far more readily appreciated, and pictures such as The ancient of days remain a powerful...