Robert D Cocke
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Though many important artists have written poetry, and a host of poets have painted or worked in other visual media, William Blake (1757-1827, the idol of Jim Morrison) is among the very few whose work in both fields has had lasting historical significance. The Huntington has one of the worlds best collections of Blakes works in both arenas, and this exhibition, Vision and Verse, represents the most comprehensive selection from the collection yet placed on public view. There are wonderful examples of Blake''s illuminated books, as well as some of his finest watercolors and pencil drawings, including three stunningly expressive suites of watercolor illustrations of Miltons poetry. Throughout, Blake renders both classical biblical themes and stories, and creates his own existentially-based moralistic cosmology in boldly figured and wildly imaginative works that confirm his status as one of Western arts most original and visionary figures (Huntington Library, Pasadena
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Guy Dill
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