1809 exhibition catalogue by William Blake
The
Descriptive Catalogue
of 1809 is a description of, and
prospectus
for, an exhibition by
William Blake
of a number of his own illustrations for various topics, but most notably including a set of illustrations to
Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales
, this last being a response to a collapsed contract with dealer
Robert Cromek
.
Having conceived the idea of portraying the characters in Chaucer's
Canterbury Pilgrims
, Blake approached Cromek with a view to marketing an engraving. Knowing that Blake was too eccentric to produce a popular work, Cromek promptly commissioned
Thomas Stothard
to execute the concept. When Blake learned that he had been cheated, he broke off contact with Stothard, formerly a friend. He also set up an independent exhibition in his brother's
haberdashery
shop at 27 Broad Street in the
Soho
district of
London
. The exhibition was designed to market his own version of the Chaucer illustration, along with other works. As a result he wrote his
Descriptive Catalogue
of 1809, which contains what
Anthony Blunt
has called a "brilliant analysis" of Chaucer. It is regularly anthologised as a classic of Chaucer criticism.
[1]
It also contained detailed explanations of his other paintings.
The price of the
Catalogue
was 2s 6d (one eighth of a
pound sterling
), and of admission to the exhibition 1s (one twentieth of a pound sterling); the usual price for exhibitions at the period. At the time a minor house servant might be paid ten pounds per year. An Index to the Catalogue was free with admission to the exhibition.
The Preface to the
Catalogue
begins with a diatribe against "the Venetian"
Correggio
and
Titian
. It concludes (using the conventional spellings of his day):
Colouring does not depend on where the Colours are put, but on where the lights and darks are put, and all depends on Form or Outline, on where that is put; where that is wrong, the Colouring never can be right; and it is always wrong in Titian and Correggio,
Rubens
and
Rembrandt
. Till we get rid of Titian and Correggio, Rubens and Rembrandt, We never shall equal
Rafael
and
Albert Durer
,
Michael Angelo
, and
Julio Romano
.
Although now lost,
The Ancient Britons
was the most sensational of the works displayed and with dimensions of some 10 ft by 14 ft, was the largest work ever executed by Blake. The painting depicted the last battle of
King Arthur
against the
Romans
.
The exhibition was very poorly attended, with none of the temperas or watercolours sold and was described as "a dead failure". There was only one review, in
The Examiner
, which was hostile.
Between April and October 2009 many of the works displayed at the original exhibition were displayed together once more at
Tate Britain
.
[2]
Works included
[
edit
]
The Index to the
Catalogue
is as follows:
Image
|
Number
|
Title
|
Notes
|
|
I
|
The Spiritual form of
Nelson
guiding
Leviathan
c. 1805?9, Butlin #649
|
|
|
II
|
The Spiritual form of
Pitt
guiding
Behemoth
c. 1805, Butlin #651
|
|
|
III
|
The Canterbury Pilgrims, from
Chaucer
c. 1808, Butlin #653
|
Blake's painting, and the detail of the coloured engraving (
Geoffrey Chaucer
on his black horse) on the left
|
|
IV
|
The Bard, from
Gray
c. 1809, Butlin #655
|
|
Lost
|
V
|
The Ancient Britons
c. 1809, Butlin #657
|
|
|
VI
|
A Subject from Shakspeare
[
sic
]
c. 1809, Butlin #658
|
Blake entitled the picture "A spirit vaulting from a cloud to turn and wind a fiery Pegasus"; Blake says that in his illustration "The Horse of Intellect is leaping from the cliffs of Memory: it is a barren Rock: it is also called the Barren Waste of Locke and Newton."
The First Part of Henry IV, Act IV, Scene i, where Sir Richard Vernon at the Battle of Shrewsbury comments on the sudden transformation of Prince Hal into a soldier who "vaulted with such ease into his seat / As if an angel dropp'd down from the clouds/ To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus/ And witch the world with noble horsemanship."
Inscribed and dated: "W Blake 1809" Pen, ink and watercolor, size 308 × 192 mm British Museum, London.
|
Lost
|
VII
|
The Goats
c. 1809, Butlin #659
|
|
Lost
|
VIII
|
The Spiritual Protector
c. 1809, Butlin #660
|
|
|
IX
|
Satan
calling up his Legions, from
Milton
c. 1795-1800, Butlin #6611
|
|
Lost
|
X
|
The
Bramins
[sic] - A Drawing
c. 1809, Butlin #663
|
a depiction of
Charles Wilkins
consulting Brahmins while making the first English translation of the
Bhagavad Gita
.
|
|
XI
|
"Cain Fleeing from the Wrath of God"
or "The Body of
Abel
found by
Adam and Eve
,
Cain
fleeing away"
A Drawing
c. 1805-1809
c. 1805-9, Butlin #664
|
Watercolor and black ink over graphite on cream wove paper 30.3 x 32.6 cm (11 15/16 x 12 13/16 in.)
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop
[
Genesis 4:8
]
|
|
XII
|
Soldiers casting Lots for Christ's Garment - A Drawing
c. 1800, Butlin #495
|
[
John 19:30?31
]
|
|
XIII
|
Jacob's Ladder - A Drawing
c. 1805, Butlin #438
|
[
Genesis 28:12
]
|
|
XIV
|
Angels hovering over the Body of Jesus in the Sepulchre - A Drawing
c. 1805, Butlin #500
|
[
John 20:12
]
|
|
XV
|
Ruth - A Drawing
c. 1803, Butlin #456
|
[
Ruth 1:16
]
Ruth
the Dutiful Daughter-in-law, 1803,
Southampton
Art Gallery
|
|
XVI
|
The Penance of
Jane Shore
- A Drawing
c. 1793, Butlin #69
|
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Blunt, Anthony,
The Art of William Blake
, p 77
- ^
Peter Ackroyd, "Genius spurned: Blake's doomed exhibition is back",
The Times Saturday Review
, 4 April 2009
Sources
[
edit
]
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