America, a prophecy Pl.13
1793
William Blake was a radical visionary who acted as his own writer, printer, and illustrator, essentially creating 18th-century graphic novels. This page from his 1793 prophetic book 'America' is a wild mix of swirling clouds, dramatic cursive text, and bizarre imagery. At the top, fiery angels soar through a storm, while at the bottom, a giant, rainbow-scaled serpent winds through the night sky carrying a woman and children. The text is a fiery rant against tyranny and religious hypocrisy, explicitly referencing the American Revolution with the line 'Boston's Angel cried aloud.' Blake invented a unique method called 'illuminated printing' for these works, hand-coloring every single copy so that no two are exactly alike.
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