The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

The artwork here is the title page for a book by William Blake titled The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. The artwork was finished in 1790 and can now be found in the collection of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., United States.

The book itself features a number of texts which are styled in a way similar to the Bible or other religious texts in which it is claimed to be the word of God. Blake's version features content which comes directly from his own opinions, however, and so is more leaned towards the Romanticist values of the 18th century. The artist would design the plates and produce prints from them before than working by hand on the copies to add colour and extra detail. It is an important project which also took in the assistance of his wife as well, and married the two main components of the artist's success - art and literature. Indeed, many of his more famous paintings would derive inspiration from other author's work, including Dante's Divine Comedy, of course. Within The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Blake would describe his own imaginary visit to Hell itself, displaying clear influence from both Milton and Dante in this regard.

Some consider this book to have been Blake's most important. He uses the publication to compare Heaven and Hell, offering stability versus an energetic alternative. Many have studied these writings in detail, fascinated by the innovative views of Blake. There have also been a frequent use of this title within popular culture and the mythological fantasy worlds produced by Blake have inspired so many, both with his art and also his poetry. Even today he is considered one of the most famous Britons of all time, and his legacy is viewed with respect and love from most. His life was truly unique, and the UK struggles to find anyone that can compare to his legacy, plus the variety of his contributions across these different disciplines.

It can be difficult to conclude as to whether it was the poetry or the art from William Blake's career that was the most inspiring. Often, such as here with The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, the two would become linked in a way that you could not really separate them in your mind. It is more helpful to simply appreciate and discuss his brilliance in both disciplines, as well as touching on those who had actually inspired him in the first place. He worked as an artist within all manner of mediums such as relief etching, print making, illustrations and watercolours, regularly combining some of these together to produce a variety of results. He loved to illustrate books and create art which sat perfectly alongside the accompanying literature, with his unique approach sometimes making use of his own poetry to do this. He was particularly talented in figurative work, and that genre was taught in great detail during this period.