The Fitzwilliam Museum's collection of prints, paintings, and illustrations by the British artist and writer William Blake is one of the best in the world. Blake was a visionary, creating complex and intensely spiritual mythologies through his extensive body of work. The dramatic image known as 'The Ancient of Days' was included as the frontispiece to Blake's illuminated book Europe A Prophecy, first published in 1794.

The Ancient of Days was "a singular favourite with Blake and as one it was always a happiness to him to copy." The print shows Urizen, Blake's embodiment of conventional reason, crouching in front of clouds with his outstretched hand holdings a compass over the darker void below. It references Book of Proverbs: "When he set a compass upon the face of the earth" and is wildly considered one of Blake's best and most influential works.