The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

The Pastorals of Virgil, Eclogue I: The Blasted Tree

1821

William Blake

(British, 1757–1827)
England, 19th century
wood engraving
Image: 3.4 x 7.3 cm (1 5/16 x 2 7/8 in.)
Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland 1934.145
Catalogue raisonné: Bindman 607; Binyon 142; Russell 30.6
Location: Not on view

Description

William Blake conceived and engraved 17 designs for Dr. Robert John Thornton’s The Pastorals of Virgil, a popular schoolbook used in teaching Latin. The publication included translations of poems by ancient Roman author Virgil that focus on a rural setting as both a subject matter and as the background for discussions of various issues, from love to politics. Blake’s illustrations reveal his emphasis on the natural world. As his only wood engravings, they also show how the process entails cutting away from the woodblock to create lighter sections, in essence working in white over a black background. Here, several areas—such as the textures of the trees—emphasize that point.
  • Francis, Henry. "Recent Accessions to the Department of Prints." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 21, no. 10 (December 1934): 158-161. Mentioned: p. 158 www.jstor.org
    "Current Exhibitions", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 44 no. 08, October 2004 Reproduced :p. 2 archive.org
  • Fairy Tales and Fables: Illustration and Storytelling in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 4-September 8, 2024).
    Nature Sublime: Landscapes from the 19th Century. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 15-November 14, 2004).
    Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).
    The Birth and Flowering of British Romantic Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 1-July 22, 1990).
    Two Hundred Years of British Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 9, 1984-February 3, 1985).
    The Vocabulary of Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 29-December 31, 1975).
    Recent Accessions of Prints, 1933-34. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-March 13, 1935).
  • {{cite web|title=The Pastorals of Virgil, Eclogue I: The Blasted Tree|url=false|author=William Blake|year=1821|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1934.145