National Gallery of Ireland
16 April - 19 July 2026
William Blake, The Night of Enitharmon’s Joy (formerly called ‘Hecate’), c. 1795. Tate, Presented by W. Graham Robertson 1939. Photo: Tate.
William Blake, a visionary artist and poet, was a defining force in Romanticism. His imaginative and unconventional works continue to inspire today. This exhibition, curated by Tate in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland, presents a selection of Blake’s most iconic works of art, alongside paintings and drawings by his contemporaries.
Blake’s world was one of fantasy, imagination, and the ancient past, filled with fantastical creatures and visions of the underworld, expressed through a wide variety of media. By placing him in context - among the artists he admired and those he inspired - the exhibition offers insight into an era of extraordinary originality and innovation in late-eighteenth and early nineteenth-century art.
Featuring over 100 works, including by James Barry (1741–1806), Henry Fuseli (1741–1825), John Hamilton Mortimer (1740–1779), Thomas Rowlandson (1757–1827), and J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851), the show explores how artists responded to a time of revolution and transformation, pushing the boundaries of their art into new imaginative territories.
Organised in collaboration with Tate.
Curated by Anne Hodge, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Ireland and Alice Insley, Curator of British Art c. 1730 – 1850 at Tate.
To celebrate this exhibition, the National Gallery of Ireland is producing a companion book of essays to illustrate how Blake’s unique visions reflected his era and how they sit within the broader context of what is often termed the age of Romanticism.The book illustrates the breadth and beauty of William Blake’s art and the richness of his artistic vision as well as that of the artists who influenced him and others who were inspired by him. In addition, it will set his work within the context of Romantic and Gothic art, and will endeavour to show how inspirational his imagery and ideas were to generations of artists and writers. Running alongside the insightful essays are the themes of Horror and Peril; Fantastical Creatures; Enchantments; The Gothic; Romanticising the Past and The Underworld, all beautifully illustrated with full-page and double-page spreads of the key paintings, prints and drawings exhibited.
With essays by Alice Insley, Anne Hodge and Christina Morin
Published by the National Gallery of Ireland
Alice Insley (PhD, University of Nottingham) is Curator of Historic British Art c.1730–1850 at Tate Britain.
Anne Hodge (MLIS, University College Dublin) is Curator of Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery of Ireland.
Christina Morin (PhD, Trinity College Dublin) is Assistant Dean of Research and Professor of English at the University of Limerick.
144pp, c. 100 colour illustrations, 260 x 225 mm
Hardback
ISBN: 978-1-911716-12-9
IMAGES
