‘For him Our Yearly Wakes and Feasts We Hold’ Possibly 1821 - 1977

Curator: What a world of revelry! The scale is miniature, just 35 by 75 millimeters, but within it, William Blake has managed to cram so much life. This is ‘For him Our Yearly Wakes and Feasts We Hold’. Editor: It feels like a glimpse into a dream, an Arcadian fantasy turned slightly nightmarish—a dance of shadows plays out before figures stiffly posed, almost like death masks in elegant clothing. Curator: I see the dichotomy you're drawing out there, this is an etching, the sharp lines creating a stark contrast, amplifying that tension between joy and something a little more unsettling. Dancing figures juxtaposed with seated, almost cadaverous figures, very Victorian. Editor: The dancers, so free, in contrast to the seated figures, trapped in their finery—do you think Blake meant for us to see the constraints of high society versus the release of more primal urges? Curator: Perhaps. It's like he's inviting us to question what we celebrate and who truly benefits from our feasts. Editor: Leaving me with this lingering sense that revelry, untamed, always has its shadow self.