t William Blake Pity, c.1795, colour print, ink and watercolour on paper, 163/4*211/4in (42.5*53.9cm)
TATE BRITAIN Millbank SW1P 4RG September 11 to February 2, 2020 ?020 7887 8888 www.tate.org.uk This autumn, Tate Britain will present the largest survey of work in the UK for a generation by painter, printmaker and poet, William Blake (1757-1827). Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake has since been held in high regard for the philosophical and mystical undercurrents in his work, which have inspired artists, musicians and writers for over two centuries. The ambitious project brings together over 300 rarely seen works and aims to reimagine the artist’s work as he intended it to be experienced. Large frescos that Blake envisioned, but never realised, for example, such as The Spiritual Form of Pitt Guiding Behemoth and The Spiritual Form of Nelson Guiding Leviathan, will be digitally enlarged and projected onto the gallery wall on the enormous scale Blake imagined.
Highlights will include Albion Rose, which opens the exhibition, depicting the mythical founding of Britain, which Blake painted in 1793, as well as some of his bestknown works such as Newton and Ghost of a Flea, which was inspired by a seance-induced vision and will be shown alongside a rarely seen preliminary sketch. Also included will be a series of illustrations to Pilgrim’s Progress as well as a section devoted to his illuminated books, including Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The gallery will also recreate the room above Blake’s family hosiery shop in London where he held an ill-fated exhibition in 1809, the only real attempt to create a public reputation for himself as a painter. This will enable visitors to view the paintings exactly as people did over 100 years ago. The exhibition will focus on London, where Blake was born and lived for most of his life, as well as on friends, patrons and family – in particular his wife Catherine, who offered practical help in the production of his engravings and illuminated books.