A Rolling Stone is Ever Bare of Moss, from The Pastorals of Virgil 1821

William Blake made this small wood engraving to illustrate Virgil’s poetry. The image shows a man using a heavy roller in front of a grand estate. It is cut into the end grain of a block of wood, probably boxwood because of its density. The matrix would have been prepared and then engraved with specialized tools to remove the areas that will appear white in the print. The technique itself is quite demanding. Blake would have needed great precision and control to achieve the fine lines and details we see here. Wood engraving has a long history, and was often used for printed illustrations in books and newspapers because it can be integrated with type and printed in large editions. What's striking is the contrast between the man's toil and the opulence of the estate. The labor-intensive process of rolling is emphasized, raising questions about class and the social order. Blake uses the graphic arts not just to illustrate text, but also to make subtle yet powerful commentary on the world around him.