Thenot Remonstrates with Colinet, Lightfoot in Background, from The Pastorals of Virgil

Thenot Remonstrates with Colinet, Lightfoot in Background, from The Pastorals of Virgil is a seminal wood engraving created by William Blake English, 1757-1827, in 1821. This work is one of the celebrated series of illustrations Blake produced late in his career for Robert Thornton’s school edition of Virgil’s Pastorals (Eclogues). Rendered on off-white wove paper, this small-scale print exemplifies Blake's distinctive graphic style, characterized by dense, often rough-hewn cross-hatching and a powerful, almost primitive handling of form.

The illustration captures a dramatic moment between the shepherds Thenot and Colinet, with the third figure, Lightfoot, visible in the background. Blake’s visual interpretation moves far beyond simple illustration, conveying a powerful sense of pastoral mysticism and emotional intensity characteristic of his Romantic vision. Created in England during a period defined by massive industrial and artistic shifts, these tiny engravings stood in stark contrast to the large, highly polished steel engravings popular at the time. Blake’s return to the demanding medium of wood engraving for the classical poet Virgil underlines his lifelong preoccupation with mythic and literary sources.

Although initially controversial for their seemingly unconventional execution when first published, these prints are now considered among Blake's finest achievements in the graphic arts, influencing subsequent generations of British artists. Today, the enduring technique demonstrated in Thenot Remonstrates with Colinet, Lightfoot in Background is widely recognized. This important example of early nineteenth-century English printmaking is housed in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.