WILLIAM BLAKE
(1757-1827)
The design for this work was engraved by Blake himself after an earlier pencil drawing, The Canterbury Pilgrims: Sketch for the Engraving, c.1809 -10 (The Hon Merlin Cunliffe, Armadale, Victoria). There is also a pen and tempera on canvas version of this subject, Sir Jeffery Chaucer and the Nine and Twenty Pilgrims on their Journey to Canterbury (Pollok House, Glasgow Art Galleries & Museums).
In terms of style, the Elgin Marbles are a strong influence on the composition. These were an early interest of Blake's, with their style being most noticeable in the figures of the Knight, the Wife of Bath and the Host.
The Canterbury Pilgrims also gave rise to the Public Address, a statement of Blake's views on art and engraving drafted in his Notebook, 1809-10, but never published.
Copyright © Trustees of Cecil Higgins Art Gallery, Bedford.
Extract taken from Prints, Cecil Higgins Art Gallery .