William Blake died at his home in Fountain Court, London, on 12 August 1827, aged 69. The poet, painter, printmaker and engraver left work that would later reach an audience far larger than it had during his lifetime.

Blake had spent much of his career combining words and images. He developed methods for producing illustrated books in which his poems and designs formed part of the same work. Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience were among the best-known examples. However, Blake produced his books in small numbers, and his finances were often difficult.

His final years were not a period of artistic retirement. The artist John Linnell became an important friend and supporter, while younger artists sought Blake out. They included Samuel Palmer and others later known as the Ancients, who regarded the older artist as an important influence.

Linnell commissioned Blake to produce illustrations to the Book of Job. The engraved series was published in 1826 and became one of the major projects of Blake’s later career. The 22 engravings combined the biblical narrative with elaborate marginal designs.

Blake then worked on illustrations to Dante’s Divine Comedy, another project encouraged by Linnell. He produced drawings and began engraving some of the designs, but the work remained unfinished when he died.

Blake’s audience grew after his death. Alexander Gilchrist’s biography, published in 1863, helped introduce his life and work to a wider Victorian readership. Later generations increasingly treated the poetry, prints and illuminated books as parts of the same body of work.

The Blake who died at Fountain Court in 1827 therefore had admirers and younger followers. Yet, nothing approaching the public reputation his work later acquired.