Pl. 23 – The Chimney Sweeper
1789
William Blake wrapped a dark social critique in a deceptively gentle, vine-covered border for this 1789 masterpiece. The hand-lettered poem tells the story of 'little Tom Dacre,' a young chimney sweep sold by his father, who dreams of an angel freeing him and his friends from their 'coffins of black.' At the bottom, the dream comes alive with naked children dancing on a green plain while an angel watches over them. Blake invented a unique 'illuminated printing' method for these pages, combining text and image so every copy was a unique work of art.
- Technique
- hand-colored relief etching
- Material
- paper
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