Blasted Trees and Flattened Crops, from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil"

Blasted Trees and Flattened Crops, from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil" is a powerful wood engraving created by William Blake in 1821. This print is one of 20 illustrations Blake designed for Robert John Thornton’s third edition of The Pastorals of Virgil, a work that sought to introduce children to classical literature. Blake utilized the challenging technique of wood engraving, employing highly detailed cuts and dense contrasts that are typical of his late career output and distinct from his earlier copperplate methods. This specific example is identified as the second state of the engraving, demonstrating Blake’s iterative process in achieving the final visual impact.

The subject matter vividly depicts the aftermath of a natural catastrophe, focusing on the destruction wrought upon the environment. The central feature involves the gnarled and seemingly tortured forms of the Blasted Trees, stripped bare and appearing as figures of desolate grief, contrasting sharply with the flattened crops visible in the foreground. This stark imagery represents a destructive storm mentioned in Virgil’s Eclogues. Blake’s distinctive, visionary style transforms the classical pastoral setting into a scene charged with Romantic intensity, emphasizing the sublime, often destructive, power of nature. Although intended for a children's textbook, Blake's highly unconventional and primitive style initially perplexed contemporary critics.

As a pivotal example of early nineteenth-century British prints, this work showcases Blake’s technical mastery in translating profound poetic ideas into the demanding format of the relief print. Today, this important piece resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, contributing significantly to the understanding of Blake's development as an artist. Due to the age of the original publication, high-resolution prints of many of these historic engravings, including Blasted Trees and Flattened Crops, are often made available through public domain initiatives.