Newton

Blake's Newton from 1795, in the National Gallery, is one of his most iconic large color prints, depicting the scientist as a muscular nude crouching at the bottom of the sea, measuring the universe with compasses. For Blake, Newton represented the tyranny of reason and materialism that had imprisoned the human imagination. The image's power transcends its polemical purpose: Eduardo Paolozzi's monumental bronze version sits outside the British Library, and the image has become a universal symbol of scientific inquiry.

Blake's unique color-printing technique creates a richly textured surface with visible printing irregularities that enhance the image's visionary quality. The muscular figure, drawn with the precision Blake learned from engraving, is set against a dark, organic background that contrasts the geometric compasses with the chaos of nature.