Aesthetic rapture between heaven and hell.

There is a rare confluence of joys about celebrated artists’ illustrations for literary classics, from Picasso’s 1934 drawings for a naughty ancient Greek comedy to Matisse’s 1935 etchings for Ulysses to Salvador Dalí’s prolific illustrations for Don Quixote in 1946, the essays of Montaigne in 1947, Alice in Wonderland in 1969, and Romeo & Juliet in 1975. But among the most breathtakingly beautiful are William Blake‘s illustrations for John Milton’s Paradise Lost (public library).

Blake created three different sets of artwork for the Milton classic — one in 1807 at the age of 50 under a commission by the Reverend Joseph Thomas; one in 1808 commissioned by Blake’s patron Thomas Butts; and one in 1822 commissioned by John Linnell – the same patron who facilitated Blake’s stunning illustrations for Dante’s Divine Comedy.

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Source: William Blake’s Mesmerizing Illustrations for John Milton’s Paradise Lost | Brain Pickings