Songs of Experience: The Sick Rose by William Blake

Songs of Experience: The Sick Rose 1794 - 1825

drawing, print

drawing

toned paper

water colours

ink paper printed

print

handmade artwork painting

personal sketchbook

watercolour bleed

watercolour illustration

sketchbook art

botanical art

watercolor

"The Sick Rose" is a hand-colored illuminated printing from William Blake's *Songs of Experience*, created between 1794 and 1825. The image depicts a rose being consumed by a worm. This work of art is part of a series of illuminated printing poems created by Blake, which were designed to be seen and read together. Blake’s *Songs of Innocence and of Experience* is a collection of poems exploring innocence and experience with contrasting motifs. "The Sick Rose" is a poem and image that contrasts with the innocent rose of *Songs of Innocence* and explores the themes of corruption, disease, and the fragility of innocence.