Blake, William (1)

Blake, William (1), an English painter and de-signer, was born Nov. 28, 1757, studied under Bazire, Flaxman and Fuseli, and died Aug. 12, 1828. His genius was undoubted, but his mind was ill-balanced; and in his illustrations of Young's Night Thoughts, Jerusalem, Blair's Grave, and the Book of Job, we are sometimes surprised by the invention and sublimity displayed by the artist. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.; Spooner, Biog. Hist. of the Fine Arts, s.v.