"The Ancient of Days"

William Blake - Oil
The Ancient of Days is the title of a design by William Blake, originally published as the frontispiece to a 1794 work, Europe a Prophecy. It shows a figure, the Ancient of Days, crouching in a circular design with a cloud-like background. His out-stretched hand holds a compass over the darker void below. As noted in Gilchrist's Life of William Blake, the design was "a singular favourite with Blake and as one it was always a happiness to him to copy." As such there are many versions of the work extant, including one completed for Frederick Tatham only weeks before Blake's death.The British Museum notes that one copy, accessioned in 1885, was excluded from Martin Butlin's 1982 catalogue raisonné of Blake's paintings and drawings, suggesting the author doubted that attribution.