Songs of Innocence: The Little Boy Found

Songs of Innocence: The Little Boy Found by William Blake is a celebrated example of the artist’s unique approach to illuminated printing. Produced between 1789 and 1825, this complex piece is a relief etching, a technique Blake largely pioneered for creating his illustrated poems. The impression was printed using orange-brown ink, providing a warm, earthy base. Crucially, Blake and his wife, Catherine, often hand-colored these prints using delicate watercolor applications and details of shell gold, transforming each resulting work into a unique piece of art.

The work illustrates the corresponding poem from the Songs of Innocence section of Blake’s composite volume, Songs of Innocence and of Experience. The narrative depicts the spiritual journey of a lost boy, exhausted and distressed, who is subsequently discovered and comforted. The composition centers on a group of figures situated beneath the sheltering boughs of large, expressive trees. A guiding woman figure, frequently interpreted as an angel or divine protector, appears leading the lost boy to his mother, a depiction of the loving guardianship central to the ‘Innocence’ cycle. Blake often uses the natural environment, symbolized here by the protective trees, to mirror spiritual or emotional states.

This piece is classified as a print, but the extensive hand-coloring elevates it beyond typical commercial engravings of the Georgian era. As a key figure of the Romantic movement in Britain, Blake sought to reunite poetry and visual art, making prints like Songs of Innocence: The Little Boy Found central to his oeuvre. This particular impression is part of the extensive collection of Blake materials held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Because of its historical significance and age, the imagery of this masterwork is often reproduced widely, making the visual content accessible through public domain art initiatives.