William Blake was born in London,
November 28, 1757. His father, James Blake, was a London hosier.
His mother's maiden name was Catherine Harmitage. William had
three brothers and a sister. His older brother took over his
father's hosiery business. His younger brothers were besaught
with tragedy. John died young. The youngest, Robert, was dear to
William, as he also had artistic leanings. He died of an illness
at the age of 21. Another brother, Richard, died in infancy.
He began his artistic
career at an early age, as when he was 10, his father sent him to
Henry Par's drawing school in the Strand. In August 1772, he
became an apprentice of Basire the engraver. For the next seven
years, he learned the fine arts of engraving, etching, stippling
and copying. With his apprenticeship completed, he set out at 21
to earn his living as a professional engraver. Two years later,
he met his future wife, Catherine Boucher, who was the illiterate
daughter of a Battersea market-gardener. They married on August
18, 1782. She learned to paint and draw, but remained illiterate,
and childless until her death in 1831. In 1783, he published his
first volume of poetry, Poetical Sketches, for his friends.
The next year, he started a print shop with a former fellow
apprentice, but it soon failed.
In 1788 he began to
experiment with a new method of printing from etched copper
plates. In this process, both words and decorations were drawn on
the copper plate with a resistant medim, and then the copper was
etched with acid. The text and designs were then left in relief,
and could be printed in any color. This Blake called "illuminated
printing", and was used by him to publish his works for the
rest of his life.
From the years 1793
to 1800, his creative output was greater than ever. Unfortunately,
this great exertion seemed to have worn Blake out. Following
numerous dissapointments, both in the recognition of his literary
and artistic works, he entered into a stage of depression. This
period, in which even some of his close friends and acquaintances
deemed him insane, lasted from 1810 to 1817.
In 1818, Blake
entered upon the last, and possibly happiest phase of his life.
He finally began to gain the recognition he deserved, and
befriended many famous English artists. Beginning in 1824, he
began to suffer from symptoms of gallstones, which eventually
caused his death on August 12, 1827.