Songs of Experience: The Angel

Songs of Experience: The Angel by William Blake is an iconic example of the artist’s visionary illuminated printing, created during the period spanning 1794 to 1825. This highly individual print was produced using relief etching, the complex and proprietary technique Blake pioneered to unify his poetic text and accompanying images on a single copper plate. After the initial impression was taken using orange-brown ink, the sheet was meticulously hand-colored with watercolor and accents of shimmering shell gold, giving the final composition a luminous, ethereal quality characteristic of the Romantic era.

The work visually interprets the profound themes explored within Blake’s poetic cycle, Songs of Experience. It depicts a confrontation between a powerful angel figure and a distressed woman, possibly relating to themes of innocence lost or the constraints of institutional morality. Blake frequently employed angels and spiritual iconography not solely for religious narrative, but as vehicles for critical commentary on the societal and ethical limitations of his time. The focus on women in distress often provided a powerful counterpoint to the rigid social structures Blake sought to dismantle through his art and poetry.

Because Blake often revisited his illuminated books over decades, each subsequent impression, like this one, presents subtle but significant variations in color saturation and emphasis, reflecting his evolving aesthetic choices. The intricate technical combination of etching and delicate hand-coloring demonstrates Blake's unique commitment to merging literature and visual art. This rare and exceptional print, a pivotal piece for studying both the history of the printmaking medium and Romanticism, is housed within the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.