Peter Thomas Blake

An English artist, one of the founders of the British pop art style. Peter Blake began his career in the post-war period, and the primary goal of his art was to help fellow citizens forget the horrors of war and plunge into a bright and, if possible, carefree, peaceful life.

Based on advertising pictures, posters and magazines, the artist’s works wittily combine all the signs of modern life, which contributed to his popularity among the public. He achieved particular success after designing the cover of the album “The Lonely Hearts Club of Sergeant Pepper” of Beatles, a popular music group.

The secret to the success of the works of Peter Blake lies in his use of vivid and well-known images. In the author’s works, you can find images of almost all the stars of the 20th century, ranging from members of the royal family to the popular pop group “Spice Girls”. Having declared himself as an innovative artist, Peter Blake abruptly changed his style in the 1970s, starting to paint naturalistic landscapes in the countryside. At this time, the master brought together artists of a similar style under the name “Ruralist Group”.

In addition to collage paintings, which had a considerable impact on the development of pop art not only in Britain but also in the USA, Peter Blake is known for his design projects. He collaborated with many music bands creating album covers and posters, as well as with famous designers, for example, Stella McCartney. The artist also created beautiful illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass”, which are among the most successful of many known design options for this fairy tale.

Key ideas:

– Popular mass culture, in particular, pop music, is the main motive of the paintings of Peter Blake. The source of his inspiration was singers, movie and television stars, whose images are familiar to everyone and invariably attract attention. Characters from the circus, which excited his imagination from childhood, appeared in the artist’s works often.

– The most famous work of Blake is the collages that he created from existing images. A bright, attractive picture resembles the cover of a glossy magazine showing a carefree and fun life.

– In his work, Peter Blake tried to combine popular culture and the classical tradition. In addition to postcards, photographs and clippings from magazines, the artist placed collages of paintings by famous masters of the past, inviting viewers to get acquainted with these works through his creations. This technique makes Peter Blake’s art different from the work of his colleagues, pop art painters.

– Peter Blake became famous for his design talent. He not only created the famous cover for the Beatles’ record but also designed albums of other artists, their concert posters, and even painted comics. The most successful were illustrations for Lewis Carroll’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass”.

– Bright and defiant images of pop art have gradually been replaced with classical motifs in the works of Peter Blake. In 1975, the artist, together with his comrades, founded the Brotherhood of the Ruralists, which promoted painting based on classical traditions. During that period, Blake began to paint landscapes in which mythical characters sometimes appear. The artist’s palette in the late period is characterized by a calm, restrained manner.