Blake, Newton and Paolozzi

In the original print by William Blake, which forms the basis for this sculpture by Eduardo Paolozzi, Isaac Newton is shown sitting naked and crouched on a rocky outcropping covered with algae, apparently at the bottom of the sea. His attention is focused upon diagrams he draws with a compass, upon a scroll that appears to unravel from his mouth.

Blake's opposition to the enlightenment was deeply rooted. He wrote "Art is the Tree of Life. Science is the Tree of Death." Newton's theory of optics was especially offensive to Blake, who made a clear distinction between the vision of the "vegetative eye" and spiritual vision. The deistic view of God as a distant creator who played no role in daily affairs was anathema to Blake, who regularly experienced spiritual visions. He opposes his "four-fold vision" to the "single vision" of Newton, whose "natural religion" of scientific materialism he characterized as sterile.

This bronze sculpture is in the piazza in front of the British Library in London.