SARAH MAYHEW visits an exhibition at a small Oxfordshire gallery that’s making a big noise in the art world Creative Gallery in Woodstock has done it again.

Tucked away around the corner of the busy town centre this gallery is redirecting Woodstock’s hustle and bustle their way with yet another extraordinary exhibition.

Visionary or madman? is not an exhibition about Woodstock’s great political leader, but it is about a great cultural leader whose work, with its socio-political concepts, continues to draw international praise. Featuring beautiful engravings for The Book of Job and Dante’s Divine Comedy, it is an exhibition by the world famous artist, philosopher, and poet, William Blake, (1757-1827).

As a visual artist Blake is best known for his intricate relief etching, however, his commercial work largely consisted of intaglio engraving (as seen in the Book of Job, completed just before his death in 1827). Intaglio engraving is a complex, and laborious process that sees the artist incising an image into a copper plate, a process that enabled artists to reproduce works efficiently and on a huge scale, in doing so enabling them, upon completion of the work, to connect with a mass audience in a relatively cost effective fashion.

Blake was commissioned to produce a series of engravings to illustrate Dante’s Divine Comedy in 1826. Blake worked tirelessly on his commission; however, with failing health, he passed away the following year without managing to complete it.

Perhaps it was his state of health and understanding of the three states of being that enabled him to achieve such magnificent results through the handful of watercolours and the seven engravings that were completed, and which were hailed as his richest achievements. A prolific creative energy, it is almost impossible to escape the name, certainly as an Art or English Literature student, or for those with an interest in pop music. Blake’s vast body of work has had enormous influence, and his legacy is often apparent in modern popular culture inspiring musicians such as Bob Dylan, Alasdair Gray and Allen Ginsberg, with other musicians from U2 to M. Ward appropriating aspects of Blake’s oeuvre.

There is an inescapable ‘dark side’ to many of Blake’s works, his painting The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed in Sun (executed 1806-1809) and the poem Auguries of Innocence both play prominent roles in Thomas Harris’s novel Red Dragon (1981), and the 2002 cinematic thriller by the same name. The story goes that killer Francis Dolarhyde develops an obsession with the painting, imagining himself ‘becoming’ a being like the Red Dragon featured in the paintings. In the horror film Hannibal, a copy of Blake’s painting The Ancient of Days is owned by Mason Verger, acting as a reference to Verger’s Urizenic qualities.

Gallery director Elizabeth Metheringham said: “We have caused a bit of stir among Blake enthusiasts as it is rare to see these engravings displayed together. We have been visited by Blake academics and art enthusiasts and learned a great deal about the influence and character of Blake.”

Offering insight into Blake’s philosophy and beliefs “Visionary or madman?” shows Blake at the pinnacle of his career as a printmaker. This is a captivating exhibition, with enormous appeal; and such a rare and magical treat to be exposed to such a magnificent collection of works so rarely seen outside of a museum. William Blake, in the literal sense of the word, was a legend.

* The exhibition of William Blake Etchings continues until June 5 at Creative Art Gallery, 43 Oxford Street, Woodstock Call 01993 810084, email info@creativeartgallery.co.uk or visit the website at creativeartgalllery.co.uk