I love when the internet cooperates

Ok so here should be the print. If not i'll try again.

The Formal Analysis

The Ancient of Days (God as an Architect) by William Blake 1794. 9 1/4 x 6 5/8 in. Relief etching finishing in gold, watercolors and gouache on paper, 1/1 Illuminated book.

Subject: Personal function, religious/spiritual.

Subject matter: God standing in the Heavens creating the Universe.

Form: Multi-hued print and watercolor and gouache on paper 9 1/4 x 6 5/8, very good use of the red hues, very detailed, good description of character, emphasis on character by lyrical lines coming forth from character.

Content: A medieval representation of God creating the universe using the tools of architect. The figure is kneeling down from Heaven and attempts to circumscribe the infinity of creation with a golden compass. The black background is very effective to show that from nothingness came everything but only through one being, which is what this character is. The use of the compass might signify trying to give direction to an otherwise universe of pure chaos. To me this image speaks of nothing but power. It is almost humbling to see that one being had the power to create all of this so then he must too have the power to take it all away. The use of printing, though I am not well versed in the styles, seems to fit well, allowing layer upon layer on color. High value yellows and reds really make an excellent contrast to the black giving the character your full attention, on top of that he is encompassed in a circle essentially framing him so you cannot help but focus on what the artist wanted you to. I believe this inspiration probably came from his childhood years when he was with his family. They were very religious.

The Artist in Question.

The Artist I have chosen to research is William Blake. Born on Nov. 28th, 1757 and died on Aug 12th, 1827 both in England. Not only was he a printmaker but also a poet.

Born in London, the bible was a huge influence on Blake from an early age and stayed just as crucial until he died. Even at a young age Blake was said to have seen deathly visions.
Blake's parents were very supportive of his talents, especially his mother. At the age of 15 he became an apprenctice for James Basire, who was an engraver. However, at the time, Basire's style was considered old fashioned for the time and Blake's apprenticeship there most likely hurt him later in life when trying to find work or recognition.

Later Blake went on to the Royal Academy where he came to detest the school's president Joshua Reynolds. Here Blake found his prefernce, in that of the Classical artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael.

In 1782 Blake met Catherine Boucher. Blake was coming off of a bad relationship and when Catherine told her parents his story he asked her, "Do you pity me?" when she said, "Yes." he proclaimed "Then I love you." They were wed that same year. Throughtout their lives Blake trained his wife in engraving and to read and write. She also helped him to print his illuminated works and as a general moral booster. However there were no little Blakes running around.

In 1784 William and his brother, Robert, opened a print shop and began working with radical publishers. Blake eventually became involved in the American and French Revolutions, though only in solidarity.

In 1788, at the age of thirty-one, Blake began to experiment with relief etching, which was the method used to produce most of his books of poems. The process is also referred to as illuminated printing, and final products as illuminated books or prints. Illuminated printing involved writing the text of the poems on copper plates with pens and brushes, using an acid-resistant medium. He then etched the plates in acid in order to dissolve away the untreated copper and leave the design standing. The pages printed from these plates then had to be hand-colored in water colors and stitched together to make up a volume. Blake used illuminated printing for four of his works: the Songs of Innocence and Experience, The Book of Thel, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, and Jerusalem.

Even when nearing death Blake remained true to art. He worked non-stop on illustrations to Dante's Inferno. He even spent one of his very last shillings on a pencil to allow him to keep sketching. He was commissioned to do the illustrations by John Linnell but Blake's death cut short the endevour.

Thus the abridged version of William Blake's life. Thank you for reading.

Finale to my Religious/Spiritual art tour of Europe

Today's art is from England and Paris. In England we went to the Salsbury Cathedral and Bathe. In Paris we went to the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Arc de Triomphe. Here are some photos of the works of art I saw at each place.

Here is a carving to an ancient god carved by the first users of the hot springs in what is today known as Bathe.

This was placed above a tomb in Salsbury Cathedral. I believe this to be religious instead of death and morbidity because the statue is of an angel. The epitaph reads, "His lot was with the dawn of life to die with the dawn of victory."
Here we see the entrance to Notre Dame. Very religious depictions carved all over the place here. This shows Jesus, his 12 apostles and then all the angels, saints and other names in Christianity.

In this photo of a sculpture we see an angel but we cannot see the face. This sculpture was found inside the Louvre, I don't know the title nor the artist but I did think it looked cool and definitely has a relevance here.

This final sculpture's photo was taken on the Arc de Trioumphe. This is were Paris has their Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I believe this is one of the Arch Angels leading or guarding troops in battle.

Yesterdays post had pictures from Rome. Today I will be showing photos I have taken of artwork and sculptures from Vatican City and England.
Here is a stain glass peice from Salsburry Cathedral in England. This was home to many tombs of noblemen and women. As one might be able to guess, there were many paintings, sculptures and other forms of art. Many by long forgotten artists.



These last photos of paintings were taking in the building surrounding the Sistin Chapel known as the Vatican museum. Some were done by Michelangelo while others were done by other artists commissioned to enternilze some different scene described in the bible.
I"m not sure what paints were used and the canvas was the walls of the building itself. There were various sizes to the art too.

My function

I have chosen Religious and/or Spiritual for the function I wish to explore. On my trip through Europe we visited a lot of old Cathedrals which in turn played home to many tombs. Here are a couple of examples. I will post more in the future.
This picture was taken in the Roman Government building.
Here we see the Roman Pantheon. This was a religious temple for the Roman empire.
Another picture from the Roman Government building.
A fountain on one of Rome's main streets. If you have ever read Angels and Demons this fountain or one very similar to this was discussed. This fountain depicts some of Rome's gods.
Here is a sculpture of Rome's High gods and goddess' before the coming of Catholicism. These names are similar to the Greeks High gods and goddess'

Welcome world

Welcome to my blog. This first entry is just to figure out what the hell i'm doing. You see I've never done any of this before, so it's all new to me. After some research that still needs to be done and some pictures that need to be added, I am supremely confident that this blog will be a shining example to be used in the centries to come.