“The Ancient of Days”
And now, the great romantic artist, William Blake.
This watercolor relief etching on paper, titled “The Ancient of Days,” is by the English artist, William Blake, from 1794. Ancient of Days is an Aramaic name for God and has been used as an artistic source of inspiration for hundreds of years. Blake is considered to be one of the first poets and artists of the Romantic Age. Though highly religious and deeply influenced by the ideology of Emanuel Swedenborg, Blake opposed organized religions as a whole. This put him at odds with the Church of England.
Blake created this piece to use as the front cover of his 1794 prophetic book, Europe a Prophecy. “The Ancient of Days” was one of his favorite designs and he recreated it eighteen different times. Just thirteen copies survive to this day. Not all of the illustrations were printed in color and each one is unique from each other. The piece depicts his rendition of a verse in the Book of Proverbs in which God “set a compass upon the face of the earth.”
Europe a Prophecy was printed at William Blake’s home in Lambeth, London, between 1794 and 1821. Each printed copy was embellished by hand by the artist using watercolors and inks. The book contains prophetic poetry which was used to tell a mythological narrative. The narrative in this book related to the current events in Europe at the time, including the French Revolution. He was a supporter of the French and American revolutions, though he was disappointed with the events in France after the initial revolution. His belief was that repressive forms of Christianity would have detrimental effects on society.
God, depicted here as Urizen, creates order in the universe, allowing life to live in an otherwise nothingness. Urizen is a character within William Blake’s own philosophy that he references many times in both text and imagery. Though he is god-like, he is complex with flaws. Urizen is sitting towards the top of the illustration, in a circle of red and yellow fiery light, surrounded by gray clouds. He is bending down to measure a compass upon vast nothingness. He is depicted nude, with long white hair and beard, which are blown to the left. Many critics see this image of Urizen as inspired by Michelangelo, who depicted God as both aged and strong, with a muscular body.
Surviving prints of “The Ancient of Days” can be found at the Glasgow University Library, the British Museum, the Library of Congress, the Morgan Library & Museum, the Houghton Library, and the Fitzwilliam Museum. This copy is located at the British Museum in London, England.
For more on William Blake, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
