The Ancient of Days

Title

The Ancient of Days

Also known as

Frontispiece to Europe a Prophecy (plate 1)

Maker

William Blake

Nationality, dates

British, 1757–1827

Date

1794

Medium

Relief and white-line etching, color printed in blue, black, red and yellow, with hand coloring

Size

23.3 × 16.8 cm (about 9 1/8 × 6 5/8 in), on a sheet about 36.3 × 25.5 cm (about 14 1/4 × 10 in)

Book

Europe a Prophecy, an illuminated book of 17 relief etchings, written, etched and printed by Blake at Lambeth, London, 1794

Copy

Copy D, one of nine known copies of the book

Subject

A crouching figure, probably Urizen, measures the dark with a pair of compasses

Texts

The title is a name for God in Daniel 7:9. An 1828 description links the compasses to Proverbs 8:27 and to Milton’s Paradise Lost, Book VII.

Inscribed

Lines from Milton’s Paradise Lost, added in pen in a near-contemporary hand, possibly George Cumberland’s

Later copies

Blake hand-colored several versions of this design. A late one, thought to be the last he worked on, is in Manchester.

Held by

The British Museum, London (1859,0625.72). Not affiliated with or endorsed by The British Museum.

Rights

The original is in the public domain. Image source: the Wikimedia Commons file of copy D, object 1, marked PD-Art.

William Blake wrote his own books, then etched and printed them himself. His wife, Catherine, helped with the printing. In 1794 he made this picture the frontispiece, or opening plate, of Europe a Prophecy. The crouching figure is probably Urizen, Blake’s own figure for reason and law. The title borrows a name for God from the Book of Daniel.

Blake said the figure came from a vision that hovered over his head at the top of his staircase. J.T. Smith, who knew him, wrote in 1828 that it was a favorite subject. He said Blake spent more time and took more pleasure coloring this print than anything else he made.

A few days before he died in 1827, Blake was still at it. Frederick Tatham had hired him to color a copy, and Blake worked on it propped up in bed. As Tatham told it to Smith, Blake touched it again and again, holding it at a distance. Then he threw it aside in triumph and said, “There, that will do! I cannot mend it.” It was not his last work. His eyes were fixed on Catherine. “Stay! keep as you are! you have ever been an angel to me, I will draw you!” he said. And he drew her portrait.

“There, that will do! I cannot mend it.”

William Blake, 1827, as Frederick Tatham told it to J.T. Smith, Nollekens and His Times (1828), vol. 2, p. 486

• Woven blanket, 100% cotton, with colorful fringed edges
• Three sizes: 52 × 37 in (132 × 94 cm), 60 × 50 in (152 × 127 cm), 80 × 60 in (203 × 152 cm)
• Size tolerance ±2.5 in (about 6 cm)
• Hang it as a wall tapestry (hanging hardware not included), or use it on a sofa or bed
• Woven threads soften fine linework; colors and texture differ slightly from the screen image
• Catalogue N° 003 · The Noha Studio

• Machine wash cold, max 30°C / 86°F
• Gentle cycle, mild detergent
• Non-chlorine bleach only if needed
• Tumble dry low

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