Colinet Mocked by Two Boys, from The Pastorals of Virgil 1821

Curator: This is William Blake's engraving, "Colinet Mocked by Two Boys, from The Pastorals of Virgil," made in 1821. What springs to mind for you when you see it? Editor: It’s intense. A stark black and white contrast; a scene flickering between comedy and something much darker. The figures almost seem trapped in this small space, hemmed in by the thick, oppressive trees. Curator: Blake certainly packs a lot of emotion into these miniature landscapes. Remember that this was a commission for a printed book of Virgil's pastoral poems. Blake was meant to illustrate idealized rural life. Editor: But look at how he depicts them. Those aren't jolly peasants; they’re laborers etched into the landscape itself. The ink seems scrubbed into the paper, the lines thick with sweat and toil. There is labor implied in that paper and the engraving too. How it's made affects what it means. Curator: You are right about the figures he portrays: far removed from Virgil’s idealized vision, Blake depicts harsher realities in line with his own social convictions. I am deeply struck by the way the figure of Colinet gestures. It's an offering and a supplication all in one, fraught with a sense of injustice. I imagine Blake saw echoes of societal mockery and misunderstood genius here. Editor: Yes! It really speaks to the political turmoil in England at the time. Blake's process here isn't just aesthetic, it's a political act, turning a commissioned work into social commentary. This is about more than illustrating verse; it's about illuminating the human cost. Curator: He used such limited material - ink and paper and the copper plate to imprint it- to craft such an enduring world that we could ponder hundreds of years later, isn’t it fascinating? Editor: Absolutely. Considering what has endured versus the labor it conceals encourages my commitment to reassess traditional values. Curator: Agreed, thinking about Blake now makes me want to rush back to my writing desk with new perspective. Editor: And it certainly invites me to view artistic commissions through a more critical lens, beyond the finished product.