I know these two paintings are unrelated but...
I know these two paintings are unrelated but it's pretty kool where the imagination can take you. The first artwork of Newton in a cave suggests Newton was trapped in his cocoon of narrow views. He is looking down and using a compass because he thinks the world is easily measurable and plotted. I don't think Blake thought this about the world. He thought it wasn't a simple thing. It was a place of endless possibilities.
Could Newton turn from this (above) to the weak animal of Nebuchadnezzar (below)?
The art is strikingly similar.
And then there is the pitiful sight of Nebuchadnezzar. A king who had a dream of a tree that grew to heaven and how his mind was transformed to be like that of a beast/animal. He is trapped here (just like Newton). It looks like he has been trapped there for quite some time.
I think the two paintings are very similar and would make for a great new story of how Newton never escaped his narrow views and subsequently dwelled there for a very long time. I realise then that the story of Nebuchadnezzar would then be ignored.
To avoid this another story could come to light where Nebuchadnezzar, the man transformed to an animal-like state (look at his claws, I love it), spends his time trapped but with persistence and diligence, becomes a noble and intelligent man. That is if we look at the artworks in the opposite sequence (from bottom to top).
Sorry this post has no academic significance. I just thought that with Blake's art, the imagination can take you places where new stories can surface. Blake was a fan of the imagination wasn't he?
Tucks Signing Off.