William Blake: Fine Artist or Illustrator?

William Blake was not known in his time but today his work is very well known and widely recognized. Blake was in a way a Renaissance man; he was a print maker, painter, wood engraver, poet, illustrator and visionary. The question that was asked was: “is he best described as a fine artist or illustrator.” I believe that William Blake is both a fine artist and illustrator.

Fine art is defined as art that is produced or intended primarily for beauty rather than utility. It is also combined of any of the following forms of art: sculpture, painting or music. Fine art requires highly developed techniques and skills; this found on answers.com. According to the same source, and illustrator is a graphic artist who concentrates on enhancing writing by providing a visual representation of the content.

William Blake was a fine artist in that he was an English poet; he drew and painted as well. Some examples of his poetry are “The Tiger,” “The Lamb,” and “Jerusalem.” Although Blake was an illustrator in that much of his artwork was meant for the use in books. William has illustrated is such books as “Divine Comedy,” “Paradise Lost,” and “On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity.”

I believe that Blake intended on capturing the eye by beauty in his work, which makes him a fine artist. On the other had I believe he was also creating work that was a visual representation of the content in a book. Therefore, the answer to the question asked is that William Blake was a fine artist as well as an illustrator.