William Blake

11 September 2019 – 2 February 2020
Tate Britain | London, UK

A visionary painter, printmaker and poet, William Blake (1757-1827) created some of the most iconic images in the history of British art and has remained an inspiration to artists, musicians, writers and performers worldwide for over two centuries.

This ambitious exhibition will bring together over 300 remarkable and rarely seen works. It will reveal the active role of his wife Catherine in his works' production and reimagine certain works as he intended them to be experienced. The Spiritual Form of Nelson Guiding Leviathan c.1805-9 and The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth c.1805, paintings that were initially designed as large-scale frescos, will be digitally enlarged and projected onto Tate Britain's walls.

To pay tribute to this staunch defender of the role of art in society and the importance of artistic freedom, the exhibition will open with Albion Rose c.1793, an exuberant visualization of the mythical founding of Britain, created in contrast to the commercialization, austerity and crass populism of his times.