William Blake's vision of the
Almighty in
Ancient of Days combines his ideas and interests in a highly
individual way. For Blake, this figure
joins the concept of the creator with that of
Wisdom as a part of God. The
Ancient of Days, printed as a
frontispiece for Blake's book,
Europe A Prophesy, was published with a quote:
"When he set a compass upon the face of the deep."
Based upon the
Book of Proverbs (8:22-23, 27-30) in the Old Testament of the Bible. Most of that chapter is spoken by Wisdom, identified as
female, who tells the reader how she was with the Lord through all the time of the
Creation:
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way,
before his works of old. I was set up from the everlasting,
from the beginning, or ever the earth
was...
When he prepared the heavens, I was there;
when he set a compass upon the face of the deep;
When he established the clouds above: when he
strengthened the fountains of the deep; When he
gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not
pass his commandment; when he appointed the
foundations of the earth; Then I was by him, I as one
brought up with him; and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing always before him.
Energy fills this composition. The
Ancient of Days leans forward from a fiery
orb, peering toward earth and unleashing power through his outstretched left arm into twin rays of light, which
emerge between his spread fingers like an architect's measuring
instrument. A mighty
wind surges through his thick hair and beard. Only the strength of his
Michelangelesque physique keeps him firmly planted within his heavenly perch. Here.
Baroque vigor and ideal Classical anatomy merge the
inner dark dreams of
Romanticism, which is seen often in nineteenth century
art. In his independence and individuality of his artistic vision, Blake was very much a man of the modern age.
The world of dreams and visions provided wonderful sublime materials for artists who yearned to escape the rules of reason. Blake wrote: "I will not reason and compare, my business is to create...the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom."
Yet, grave risks imperiled such an approach. Raw feeling could lead the soul astray, perhaps beyond the limits of sanity.
Bibliography
Justus, Kevin. "Art and Culture II." Tucson, Arizona.
1992. (Lecture presented at Pima Community College.)
De La Croix, Horst, Richard D. Tansey, and Diane Kirkpatrick.
Art Through the Ages. University of Michigan: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
1991.
You may view an image of this work at
Mark Harden's Artchive:
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/blake/ancient.jpg.html