Romanticism · 1757–1827 · British

William Blake

Blake invented his own printing methods: relief etching for his illuminated books, and large color prints pulled from paint on board and finished by hand in watercolor, as in Newton (1795).

Across 4 works, the colors are mostly brown (38%), black (24%) and gray (19%). On average the canvases are mid-toned, muted and warm. Signature colors, used far more here than across the collection: very dark muted green, dark slate, charcoal, graphite and dark taupe.

Color print

The swatches covering most of these canvases, averaged over every work, dark to light.

• MG 222 charcoal 21.7% of canvas
• MG 177 dark taupe 11.1% of canvas
• MG 218 graphite 9.7% of canvas
• MG 211 dark slate 9.2% of canvas
• MG 061 very dark muted green 4.1% of canvas
• MG 176 taupe 3.6% of canvas
• MG 221 blue black 3.3% of canvas
• MG 201 parchment 3.2% of canvas
• MG 219 bistre 3.1% of canvas
• MG 168 dark amber brown 2.9% of canvas
• MG 155 dark reddish brown 2.2% of canvas
• MG 100 very dark muted blue 2.0% of canvas
• MG 167 brown 1.9% of canvas
• MG 217 iron 1.7% of canvas
• MG 200 ivory 1.7% of canvas
• MG 175 stone 1.7% of canvas

Measurements

Lightness

0.41

Contrast

0.47

Vividness

0.027

Warmth

+0.91

Complexity

145 cells

Hue range

0.43

Focus

0.18

Works

• Agony in the Garden, 18th century
• The Ancient of Days, 1794
• Newton, 1795
• The Ghost of a Flea, c. 1819