Dimensions: image: 35 x 75 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So, this is William Blake's tiny engraving, ‘With Songs the Jovial Hinds Return from Plow’. It feels surprisingly monumental, considering its size. What do you make of the figures, all caught in this return from labor? Curator: Ah, Blake. Even in miniature, he's wrestling with the big stuff. I see the cyclical nature of life, the endless turn of the seasons embodied in these laborers returning as the sun sets. They bring music, joy even, but there's a weight too, wouldn’t you say? It is Blake, after all! Editor: A weight, definitely. Maybe it’s the stark contrast of light and dark, or the slightly haunting look of the musicians. I hadn't considered the cyclical aspect before. Curator: It's there, isn't it? Beginning and end, darkness and light, toil and song. He saw it all intertwined, like the roots of a tree clinging to the earth. Editor: It is pretty amazing how much he fits into such a small space. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Blake always leaves you with more questions than answers, doesn't he?
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-with-songs-the-jovial-hinds-return-from-plow-a00126
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Samuel Palmer was the most important of Blake’s followers, known as the Ancients. Palmer first met Blake in 1824. He described these illustrations to an imitation of the First Eclogue by the Roman poet Virgil as ‘visions of little dells, and nooks, and corners of Paradise’. Palmer’s art was particularly influenced by them. These prints appealed to the Ancients because they were the result of Blake’s experiments with a new medium; he had never engraved on wood before. Even at the age of sixty-four he wanted to make further explorations in his art. Gallery label, August 2004
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