An exhibition of watercolours and engravings by the English visionary artist and poet William Blake opens in Moscow on November 29. This is the first time his work will be presented to the Russian public.

      Renowned for his outworldy compositions and visionary poems, Blake was a perfect example of a "poor artist" who yet managed to influence several generations of his disciples. From pre-Raphaelites to Surrealists, nearly all modern painters could cite Blake for inspiration.

      The exhibtion at the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts is a part of the 31st music festival, "Svyatoslav Richter's December Evenings", and marks the centenary of the Museum, to be celebrated throughout 2012. It was organised with the assistance of the British Council, and the works on display are delivered from the major British collections, including Tate Gallery, British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, National Portrait Gallery (all - London), Fitzwilliam Museum (Cambridge), Whitworth Art Gallery (Manchester), Petworth House (West Sussex), and Britten-Pears Foundation (Aldeburgh).

      The visitors to the exhibition will see such famous watercolours as "Last Judgement", "Newton", "Paris's Judgement", and illustrations to Dante's "Divine Comedy", to the works of John Milton, William Shakespeare, and Herbert Spencer. Alongside these will be exhibited the works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, Johann Fuseli, Samuel Palmer, Francis Bacon, Aubrey Beardsley, and other British painters and illustrators of the 19-20th cc.

      The exhibition runs from November 29th 2011 until February 19th 2012.

      Source: Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.