The Ancient of Days 1794

William Blake rendered this watercolor etching, "The Ancient of Days," drawing from his own illuminated book, *Europe a Prophecy*. Here, the creator, perhaps Urizen, plunges downwards from a fiery orb, compass in hand. This compass, a symbol of reason and measurement, echoes across time. We find it in ancient depictions of architects, and resurfacing during the Renaissance as an emblem of divine order. Yet, Blake complicates this symbol, revealing a tension between creation and constraint. Is this God a benevolent architect or a tyrannical force imposing limits? The compass, a tool for understanding the world, also risks confining it, and the act of imposing limits may even be considered an act of violence. Blake taps into our collective unease. We yearn for order, yet fear its rigidity, this primal tension engages us on a subconscious level. The Ancient of Days embodies the struggle between creative freedom and the imposition of rational boundaries, a cyclical motif, endlessly reappearing and evolving across history.