Songs of Experience: My Pretty Rose Tree, Ah! Sun-Flower, The Lilly

"Songs of Experience: My Pretty Rose Tree, Ah! Sun-Flower, The Lilly" by William Blake is a significant example of the artist’s illuminated books, dating from the period 1794 to 1825. This unique print classification utilizes relief etching, a highly innovative technical process Blake developed to integrate image and handwritten text seamlessly onto a single plate. The initial impression was printed using warm orange-brown ink, which was then meticulously hand-colored with opaque watercolor and touches of reflective shell gold, lending the work a characteristic luminosity distinctive of Blake’s late Romantic style.

The composition incorporates text and illustrations for three distinct poems from the artist’s seminal collection, Songs of Experience. This poetic cycle contrasts the purity of youthful innocence with the disillusionment and social strictures encountered in adulthood. Blake often employed intense natural symbolism to portray complex human conditions, particularly focusing on the subjugated role of women in 18th and early 19th-century Britain. Verses such as "My Pretty Rose Tree" metaphorically address emotional frustration and the constraint placed upon feminine sexuality.

Blake’s dedication to producing these hand-colored prints himself allowed him complete control over the final aesthetic, functioning as author, illustrator, and publisher. This labor-intensive practice explains the protracted period over which many of his illuminated works were completed. The enduring influence of Blake’s combined artistry as a visual master and revolutionary poet is evident in the quality of this impression, which resides in the print collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.