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William Blake’s The Book of Urizen: 27 Illuminated Plates
Explore 27 plates from this source copy of William Blake’s The Book of Urizen, following its illustrated sequence through creation, confinement, fire and water.
The illuminated title page of The Book of Urizen
William Blake Arching branches surround the hand-lettered title of William Blake’s The Book of Urizen.
The Book of Urizen
The windswept prelude to The First Book of Urizen
William Blake A figure’s green robes stream across the upper half of this illuminated prelude, reaching towards a smaller horizontal body.
The Book of Urizen
Outstretched arms above Urizen’s opening chapters
William Blake A figure stretches its arms and legs across a red, gold and black field above the opening chapters of The Book of Urizen.
The Book of Urizen
The bearded figure beneath the rock
William Blake A white-bearded figure folds its knees beneath an overhanging rock, the narrow shelter pressing closely around its back.
The Book of Urizen
The open book beneath the blazing face
William Blake A bearded face appears above an enormous open book, its arms spread behind the pages and bright rays breaking through the surrounding darkness.
The Book of Urizen
Urizen entangled in dark waters
William Blake The raised hands, streaming beard and bent legs of the white-haired figure are crossed by dark horizontal bands.
The Book of Urizen
Bound figures among descending flames
William Blake Three bent bodies occupy a narrow field of streaked yellow, red and black beneath the lettering.
The Book of Urizen
The inverted figure between dark mountains
William Blake An upside-down figure braces its hands on the rocky foreground while its torso curves against a dark mountain landscape.
The Book of Urizen
The crouching figure beneath the flames
William Blake Beneath the poem’s lettering, a figure crouches on bent knees with both arms drawn behind its head.
The Book of Urizen
The bowed skeleton beneath the verse
William Blake A skeletal figure bends forward, its ribs curving across the image and its skull resting near the ground.
The Book of Urizen
The chained, seated Urizen
William Blake Urizen sits with knees drawn up and heavy fetters around his ankles, while red and gold rays surround his closed eyes.
The Book of Urizen
The figure supporting the rocky overhang
William Blake A figure stands with feet set wide apart and arms raised beneath a dark rocky overhang.
The Book of Urizen
Two figures beside the branching flames
William Blake Two seated figures occupy the lower half of the page, one shown from behind and the other facing outward with raised knees.
The Book of Urizen
The curled figure in golden flames
William Blake A figure pulls its knees towards its chest and clasps its hands behind its head within a field of sharp golden flames.
The Book of Urizen
A long body suspended between passages
William Blake A small horizontal body stretches across a dark band between two passages of illuminated text.
The Book of Urizen
The bent figure and streaming beard
William Blake A figure bends forward with a hand near its head beside an upright bearded face.
The Book of Urizen
The fiery beard above a dark globe
William Blake A figure presses its hands against its head while the beard and hair spread around a large dark globe.
The Book of Urizen
The standing figure with outstretched arms
William Blake A standing figure spreads both arms across a field of streaming red and gold forms.
The Book of Urizen
Two bowed figures beneath a dark sky
William Blake Two figures bow their heads above the poem’s lettering, one leaning forward from a kneeling position and the other curled tightly on the ground.
The Book of Urizen
The falling figure within a burst of flame
William Blake A small figure falls head-first inside a burst of red, orange and gold forms at the foot of the page.
The Book of Urizen
The two figures joined beneath the branches
William Blake Two standing figures lean closely together beneath an overhead web of dark branches.
The Book of Urizen
The robed figure beside the pale disc
William Blake A white-bearded figure in a pale robe reaches across the lower part of this illuminated page.
The Book of Urizen
Urizen turns his back to the viewer
William Blake The figure turns its back to the viewer, raising both hands beside the head while long hair streams down around the body.
The Book of Urizen
The descending flames above fallen figures
William Blake A horizontal figure sweeps through streaming flames above three figures spread across the rocky lower scene.
The Book of Urizen
Clustered figures above Chapter IX
William Blake Several figures cluster among thick, curling coloured forms at the top of the page.
The Book of Urizen
The standing figure in the stone chamber
William Blake A solitary figure stands upright before a tall stone chamber, its narrow body set against a large dark rectangular opening.
The Book of Urizen
The bearded figure beneath the final verse
William Blake A long-bearded figure crouches with arms extended to either side beneath the closing words of The Book of Urizen.
The Book of Urizen