The Ancient of Days

The Ancient of Days (1794) by William Blake. Its palette is led by charcoal (#1a221a, 37%) and parchment (#eee2ca, 18%), with accents of amber, rich sienna, light amber gold and pale golden yellow. Overall the canvas is mid-toned, moderately saturated and warm.

Color note

Blake invented his own printing methods: relief etching for his illuminated books, and large color prints pulled from paint on board and finished by hand in watercolor, as in Newton (1795).

Palette

#1a221a MG 222 charcoal 36.5% of canvas
#eee2ca MG 201 parchment 18.1% of canvas
#413125 MG 177 dark taupe 14.1% of canvas
#a0772f MG 034 amber 11.0% of canvas
#803d2e MG 147 rich sienna 10.0% of canvas
#bea545 MG 037 light amber gold 7.5% of canvas
#ebd15d MG 040 pale golden yellow 2.7% of canvas

Color families

Brown 30%, Black 24%, White 17%, Green 14%, Yellow 10%

Measurements

Lightness: 0.49
Contrast: 0.71
Vividness: 0.040
Warmth: +1.00
Complexity: 241 cells
Hue range: 0.49
Focus: 0.27

Composition

54% of the visual weight is in the right half, 63% in the upper half. Symmetry 0.79 (how closely its shapes and edges mirror each other). 18% of the canvas is calm space. Half of the detail sits in 30% of the canvas. Measured from the image, not a rule the painter followed.

Details

Date: 1794
Medium: Ink on paper
Size: 23.3 × 16.8 cm
Genre: mythological painting
Collection: British Museum, London Borough of Camden

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