Pl. 12 – The Little Boy Lost
1789
Step into the dark, moody world of William Blake, where a small child in a flowing white gown reaches desperately toward a distant, glowing light. This haunting scene illustrates the poem 'The Little Boy Lost,' printed below in Blake's signature swirling, hand-lettered script surrounded by ethereal angels. Created in 1789 as part of his famous 'Songs of Innocence,' this piece is a prime example of Romanticism's focus on emotion and childhood vulnerability. Blake actually invented a unique technique called 'illuminated printing' to etch both the text and the drawings onto copper plates, allowing him to be the poet, printer, and painter all at once!
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