Blasted Tree and Flattened Crops

Blasted Tree and Flattened Crops is a dramatic wood engraving created by William Blake in 1821. This small, intensely detailed print exemplifies Blake’s mastery of relief printmaking, a technique he often utilized in his later years, departing from his earlier reliance on etched copperplate for his illuminated books. Executed during the British period of 1801 to 1825, this work captures the artistic ferment of the late Romantic era, often contrasting the sublime power of nature with underlying spiritual judgments.

The subject matter is one of stark, immediate destruction, centered on a massive, fractured tree trunk whose branches are stripped bare. The powerful visual impact is achieved through the technical demands of the medium; Blake employs deep contrasts typical of wood engraving, allowing the meticulous incised lines cut into the end grain of the block to create areas of dramatic shadow and sharp highlights. This precision distinguishes the work from the broader texture found in woodcuts. At the base of the broken form, agricultural crops lie unnaturally prone, suggesting a catastrophic wind, flood, or divine force has swept the landscape, transforming a scene of cultivation into one of upheaval.

Blake often used these types of prints to illustrate literary works, imbuing seemingly simple natural scenes with profound theological and philosophical significance. The enduring power of this piece resides in its dramatic composition and the tension between the fragility of the natural world and overwhelming environmental forces. As a significant example within Blake's extensive body of prints, and one now considered part of the museum’s public domain collection, Blasted Tree and Flattened Crops showcases the artist’s unique vision just a few years before his death. This powerful meditation on destruction and renewal is housed in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art.