Colinet Mocked by Two Boys

Colinet Mocked by Two Boys, created by William Blake in 1821, is a powerful example of the artist’s mastery of the wood engraving technique. Produced late in his career for Robert John Thornton’s illustrated edition of Virgil’s Eclogues, this small-scale work showcases Blake’s unique visual interpretation translated into the rigorous medium of relief printing. Blake employed the dense, highly contrasted black-line style characteristic of wood engraving, using dramatic shadow and light to define the figures and the environment within the extremely small format.

The scene depicts the pastoral figure Colinet, adapted from Ambrose Philips's imitation of Virgil, facing the taunts and aggression of two young boys. Blake captures the emotional tension of the confrontation, emphasizing the vulnerability and solitude of the central figure through posture and simplified forms. The setting evokes a deep, shadow-filled atmosphere, concentrating the viewer’s focus entirely on the human drama unfolding. This piece, created during the British period 1801 to 1825, demonstrates Blake’s unique position in graphic arts, bridging earlier Neoclassical emphasis on line with the powerful subjective vision of Romanticism.

Blake’s innovative approach to prints, particularly his late wood engravings, had a lasting influence on subsequent British illustrators and artists. Despite the minute scale, the work's artistic intensity is immense. Today, this key piece in the history of British illustration is preserved in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, offering scholars and enthusiasts a clear view of Blake's graphic output from the final decades of his life. As a historically significant artwork, the image is often available for study through public domain initiatives, ensuring widespread access to this seminal wood engraving.