Marcus Chen
William Blake's The Ancient of Days is a design that was originally published in 1794 as the frontispiece to his work Europe a Prophecy. The piece depicts Urizen, a character within Blake's own philosophy, creating order in the universe by imposing a rational order on the world with a pair of dividers. The title comes from one of the names given to God in the Old Testament, and the image is one of Blake's most famous and beloved, with many versions of the work extant.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1794 |
| Artist | William Blake |
| Medium | Watercolor relief etching on paper |
| Style | Symbolism |
| Colours | Bold colours |
| Subject | Urizen, a character from Blake's own philosophy |
| Inspiration | Michelangelo's representation of the prophet Abias in the Sistine Chapel |
| Publication | Originally published as the frontispiece to the 1794 work "Europe a Prophecy" |
| Copies | 13 known copies, each hand-coloured by Blake |
| Technique | Illuminated printing |
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What You'll Learn
William Blake's life and work
William Blake, born on 28 November 1757, was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. He lived in London his entire life, except for three years spent in the seacoast town of Felpham. Blake is considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. He was also a prolific poet and published several books of poetry throughout his career.
Blake claimed to experience visions throughout his life, often with religious themes and imagery, which may have inspired his spiritual works. God and Christianity were central to his writings, and he drew inspiration from them. He believed that he was personally instructed and encouraged by Archangels to create his artistic works, which he claimed were enjoyed by the same Archangels.
Blake was also acquainted with some of the leading radical thinkers of his day, including William Godwin, Joseph Priestley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Thomas Paine. He celebrated the rise of democracy in France and the fall of the monarchy in his work "The French Revolution".
Blake's work was largely neglected or dismissed during his lifetime, and he was considered mad by contemporaries for his idiosyncratic views. However, he later gained recognition for his expressiveness and creativity. He was introduced to a young artist named John Linnell in 1818, who helped him financially and created new interest in his work. Linnell also commissioned him to design illustrations for Dante's Divine Comedy, which Blake worked on until his death in 1827.
One of Blake's notable works is "The Ancient of Days", originally published as the frontispiece to the 1794 work "Europe a Prophecy". The work draws its name from one of God's titles in the Book of Daniel and depicts Urizen crouching in a circular design with a cloud-like background, holding a compass over the void below. There are currently thirteen known copies of "Europe a Prophecy", each hand-coloured by Blake, making each image unique.
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The design and its meaning
The Ancient of Days, designed, printed, and hand-coloured by William Blake, was the frontispiece of his 1794 poem Europe a Prophecy. It draws its name from one of God's titles in the Book of Daniel. The design shows Urizen, a harsh deity, with an outstretched hand holding a compass over the darker void below. Urizen is depicted as a bearded, white-haired man, kneeling in a red circle, surrounded by fiery light and clouds. The figure is based on Michelangelo's representation of the prophet Abias in the Sistine Chapel.
The Ancient of Days is an epic representation of Blake's views on religion, politics, and humanity. It is also said to be one of his favourite images, as he was painting a copy in the days before his death. The image has been interpreted as a contemplation on the roles of divinity, creativity, and the boundaries of human understanding. Blake's work often reflected his interest in spirituality and the supernatural, and he was known for his unconventional beliefs and ideas.
The design can be seen as a rejection of the prevailing new world-view of Newton's rational "clockwork universe". Blake objected to the implications of Newton's ideas when carried to their logical extreme, as they left no room for his visionary imagination, emotion, and mysticism. Blake always held his elevation of imagination above reason. This can be seen in the contrast between Urizen, who represents reason, and Albion, who represents imagination. Albion is depicted as young, open-hearted, optimistic, and joyful, in contrast to the older and more sombre Urizen.
The colour palette of The Ancient of Days is dominated by warm hues of yellow and brown, juxtaposed with the more sombre tones of the surrounding clouds and shadows. This contrast accentuates the figure's pre-eminence and adds to the dynamic and dramatic nature of the composition. Blake's finesse in blending the sharp lines of the etching with the fluidity of watercolours is emblematic of his intricate and profound visual language.
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Urizen and God
In the mythology of William Blake, Urizen is a complex figure, embodying conventional reason and law and serving as a godlike representation of abstraction. Blake's creation myth, The Book of Urizen, introduces Urizen as an eternal, self-focused being who creates himself out of eternity, akin to the Book of Genesis. Urizen is depicted as a bearded old man, sometimes wielding tools of creation or constraint, such as a compass, reflecting his role in shaping and controlling the universe.
Urizen's character first emerges in Blake's "A Song of Liberty" (1793) and features in subsequent works like "To Nobodaddy," "America a Prophecy," and "Songs of Experience" (1794). In these texts, Urizen assumes various roles, from a "starry king" to an evil god ruling during the Enlightenment. Notably, in "America a Prophecy," Urizen is described as creating the world, embodying the idea of a god of reason.
Urizen's role as a deity is further explored in Blake's "Europe a Prophecy" (1794), where he is depicted in the illustration "The Ancient of Days." In this image, Urizen stretches out a compass above a dark void, imposing rational order on the world. Urizen's association with reason and law positions him in opposition to Los, who embodies imagination. This tension reflects Blake's own beliefs, elevating imagination above the prevailing rationalism of his time, notably embodied by Isaac Newton's concept of a "clockwork universe."
In Blake's later mythology, Urizen evolves into one of the four Zoas, representing the fourfold division of the central god. Urizen takes on a fallen, Satanic aspect, experiencing a Satanic fall due to his desire to rule. He is described as the creator figure, binding and controlling the universe through laws, and is connected to his Emanation, Ahania, who represents pleasure. Urizen's name, meaning "Your Reason" or "to limit", further underscores his role as an embodiment of reason and constraint.
Through Urizen, Blake explores complex themes of reason, imagination, and the human condition, challenging the prevailing rationalism of his time. Urizen's depiction in "The Ancient of Days" captures the tension between order and creativity, reflecting Blake's unique vision and enduring legacy in art and literature.
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Europe a Prophecy
William Blake's "Europe a Prophecy" is a 1794 work that contains 265 lines of poetry organised into septenaries. It is considered a prophecy, a word that Blake understood not to denote a description of the future but the view of the honest and the wise. The work is a mythological narrative that presents a vision of a world filled with suffering connected to the politics of 1790s Britain.
The book is prefaced by an image known as "The Ancient of Days", a depiction of Urizen separating light and darkness. Urizen, a creative principle in the universe, establishes mathematical order and permanence that allows life to keep from becoming nothingness. The image is connected to John Milton's "Paradise Lost" in which God uses a golden compass to circumscribe the universe. However, Blake's version does not create the Garden of Eden but instead creates the serpent of the poem's frontispiece. The image is also connected to a vision that Blake witnessed at the steps inside of his home.
"The Ancient of Days" draws its name from one of God's titles in the Book of Daniel. It shows Urizen crouching in a circular design with a cloud-like background. His outstretched hand holds a compass over the darker void below. There are currently thirteen known extant copies of "Europe a Prophecy", each hand-coloured by Blake with unique qualities.
Blake's work often reflected his interest in spirituality and the supernatural, as well as his unconventional beliefs and ideas. He rejected most political and religious beliefs of his time, transmuting them into an elaborate personal mythology. His work "Europe a Prophecy" is no exception, presenting a rich world of watercolour, drawings, illustrations, and poetry.
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Techniques and style
William Blake's "The Ancient of Days" is a design that was originally published as the frontispiece to the 1794 work Europe a Prophecy, a poem that described Christianity as a repressive force on society and criticised the French Revolution's trajectory. It draws its name from one of God's titles in the Book of Daniel.
The work depicts Urizen, a harsh law-giving deity, stretching out a compass above a black void. Urizen is shown kneeling in a circular design with a cloud-like background. Blake's use of dividers in the figure's hand is an image of soulless construction, representing an allegorical image of materialism. The dividers are a traditional attribute of God as the creator, but in Blake's work, they take on a different meaning, imposing a rational order on the world.
Blake's unique printing technique, which he called "illuminated printing", combined words and pictures on the page. He wrote and drew on copper plates with acid-repelling ink, creating a relief image. The plate was then dipped in acid, a technique that produced the opposite of a traditional engraving. This process allowed him to illustrate what appeared to be handwritten verses, in a style that seemed more like drawing and painting than printing.
Blake took control of his production process, hand-colouring each print, making each image unique. He used opaque pigments, spreading them onto the plates themselves, or applied watercolours by hand to the printed sheets. This time-consuming process resulted in each of the nine surviving versions of "The Ancient of Days" being slightly different.
Blake's work reflects his unconventional beliefs and ideas, often exploring his interest in spirituality and the supernatural. He rejected most political and religious beliefs of his time, and his artistic creations are uniquely expressive, featuring spiritual and esoteric symbolism.
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Frequently asked questions
William Blake created 'The Ancient of Days' in 1794.
'The Ancient of Days' is a design or illustration. It was printed and hand-coloured by Blake.
'The Ancient of Days' depicts Urizen, a character within William Blake's own philosophy. Urizen is based on Michelangelo's representation of the prophet Abias in the Sistine Chapel.
'The Ancient of Days' draws its name from one of God's titles in the Book of Daniel. Urizen, as God, creates order in the universe, allowing life to exist in an otherwise empty void.
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.
