William Blake is said to have described an artist who was fascinated by the surface qualities of flesh since his earliest childhood. When this artist was a young boy he used to watch his father at work, enthralled by how the veins showed through the flushed and ruddy skin, the bluish-green web of fine lines just faintly discernable beneath the translucent, rosy, surface and undulating in time to his father’s movements. Blake says, “I knew then, he was condemned to be a painter.” I read this anecdote somewhere in Blake's writings and want to use it in the introduction of my thesis on flesh painting techniques. (above) Can't remember where though. I know it's a shot in the dark, but any ideas out there where I might have seen it? Some general context: pertains to Blake's anti-naturalism in his art, might be a rant about Sir Joshua Reynolds. It's driving me nuts. Thank you very much!
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