Thenot and Colinet Lead Their Flocks Together, from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil"

Thenot and Colinet Lead Their Flocks Together, from Thornton's "Pastorals of Virgil" is a significant wood engraving created by William Blake in 1821. This print originated as one of seventeen illustrations commissioned for Dr. Robert John Thornton’s third edition of the School Virgil. These late works are renowned not only for their small scale but also for Blake’s radical, almost primitive aesthetic, which deeply influenced subsequent generations of British artists.

Blake utilized the wood engraving medium to achieve a strikingly textured, darkened effect, deliberately contrasting with the smooth, conventional illustrations of the period. The scene depicts the classical shepherds, Thenot and Colinet, guiding their flocks across a dramatically stylized, shadowed landscape. The composition focuses on the integrated relationship between the Men and Women figures and their Animals, reflecting the idealized simplicity central to Virgil's ancient pastoral poetry.

This particular illustration captures the moment of shared labor and movement, rendering the figures with a powerful sense of mass and archaic force. Blake’s visionary intensity infused the traditional source material with a profound sense of cosmic drama, making the series a pinnacle of his career in graphic prints.

The work resides in the distinguished collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because of their enduring historical significance, these influential prints are often recognized as important public domain works, ensuring their continued study and appreciation globally.