William Blake

Some weeks ago I watched the movie Red Dragon, with Anthony Hopkins (one of my favorite actors). The actual plot of the film is not very interesting (it is better to watch The Silence of the Lambs, which in my opinion is much more interesting and the plot is almost identical, plus it's also with Hopkins), but in it one of the main characters is obsessed with one particular painting by William Blake, which is The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in the Sun, which is the one below.

The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun

by William Blake

I knew of William Blake before, but this made me look more into his art, and I was absolutely fascinated by it. The paintings are so mysterious, depicting very spiritual situations, with mythical characters, or ceremonies, or prayer. Here is a little selection I made.

Angel of the Revelation

Jacob's Ladder

Satan in His Original Glory

The Ancient of Days

Illustration from Song of Los

Nebuchadnezzar

Isaac Newton

I was really interested, intrigued and shocked by these images, and thought that maybe it could be a nice idea to write small pieces inspired by each one of them, a little like what Modest Mussorgsky did. I still need to think more about this, but I already have some small ideas for some of the paintings. 

And I leave you with an interesting, but equally puzzling quote by William Blake from A Vision of the Last Judgement.

Men are admitted into Heaven not because they have curbed and governd their Passions or have No Passions but because they have Cultivated their Understandings. The Treasures of Heaven are not Negations of Passion but Realities of Intellect from which All the Passions Emanate Uncurbed in their Eternal Glory. (E564)