id: 114515
accession number: 1934.145
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1934.145
updated: 2023-05-13 11:08:21.933000
The Pastorals of Virgil, Eclogue I: The Blasted Tree, 1821. William Blake (British, 1757–1827). Wood engravings; image: 3.4 x 7.3 cm (1 5/16 x 2 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1934.145
title: The Pastorals of Virgil, Eclogue I: The Blasted Tree
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 1821
creation date earliest: 1821
creation date latest: 1821
current location:
creditline: Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland
copyright:
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culture: England, 19th century
technique: wood engravings
department: Prints
collection: PR - Woodcut
type: Print
find spot:
catalogue raisonne: Bindman 607; Binyon 142; Russell 30.6
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CREATORS
* William Blake (British, 1757–1827) - artist
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measurements: Image: 3.4 x 7.3 cm (1 5/16 x 2 7/8 in.)
state of the work: Binyon II/II
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Recent Accessions of Prints, 1933-34
opening date: 1935-02-20T05:00:00
Recent Accessions of Prints, 1933-34. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-March 13, 1935).
title: Two Hundred Years of British Prints
opening date: 1984-10-09T04:00:00
Two Hundred Years of British Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 9, 1984-February 3, 1985).
title: The Birth and Flowering of British Romantic Art
opening date: 1990-05-01T04:00:00
The Birth and Flowering of British Romantic Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 1-July 22, 1990).
title: Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection
opening date: 2003-08-17T00:00:00
Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).
title: Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century
opening date: 2004-08-15T00:00:00
Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 15-November 14, 2004).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
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PROVENANCE
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fun fact:
digital description:
wall description:
In 1820, Blake was commissioned to illustrate a new edition of The Pastorals of Virgil, published as a school text, which included commentary by Dr. Robert John Thornton on the famous poem from the 1st century BC. Blake’s seventeen wood engravings became tremendously influential. Samuel Palmer wrote of these wood engravings: "They are visions of little dells, and nooks, and corners of Paradise; models of the exquisitest [sic] pitch of intense poetry. . . . There is in all such a mystic and dreamy glimmer as penetrates and kindles the inmost [sic] soul." Despite Palmer’s poetic description, Blake’s wood engravings were not images of an unchanging paradise. Instead, they record an ever-shifting and often ambiguous relationship between the artist and his environment. They describe a landscape of Blake’s imagination—a wellspring of dreams and artistic inspiration, yet simultaneously a land of doubts and shadows, sweet delusions and unformed hopes.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
"Current Exhibitions", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 44 no. 08, October 2004
page number: Reproduced :p. 2
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2004-08/page/n1
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1934.145/1934.145_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1934.145/1934.145_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1934.145/1934.145_full.tif