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Thread: John Martin (1789-1854) died on this day. He was an English Romantic painter of vast dramatic scenes, whose work excited the admiration of the public. After his death his art fell into obscurity but is now being re-examined. 
Born in Northumberland, he was apprenticed to a painter & moved with him to London in 1806. There he did a number of jobs before settling down to paint. His art was first accepted by the RA in 1811. Sadat (1812), Adam’s First Sight of Eve (1812) & Clytie (1814)
His early landscapes of London have a serene beauty. Hyde Park (c1815), Kensington Gardens (1815-6) & Chepstow Castle (1815)
Martin’s style of melodramatic images suited the Burkean vision of the sublime & amazed his viewers with images which today we might think of as SciFi genre. Cadmus & the Dragon (1813) but which are within the Romantic school of painting.
In 1816 he reached a turning point when he exhibited his Joshua Commanding the Sun. Distant View of London (1815) is in sharp contrast in its sylvan setting.
His debts, which he incurred looking after his family & scraping by, were resolved when he sold The Fall of Babylon (1816) for the then enormous sum of £420. Landscape (1815). Babylon is an astounding work & must have stunned the public in its passion.
He moved to a better house & into a circle of intellectuals. His celebration of success was Belshazzar’s Feast (1820). Macbeth (1820) is a whirlwind of Romanticism, although our Scottish friends do seem to be doing a spot of Country Dancing in his imaginary landscape
Such was his reputation he was courted by Kings & given awards. Faraday, Prince Albert, Dickens & Turner would become his friends. Destruction of Pompeii (1822), Alexander & Diogenes (nd) & Adam & Eve (1823)
The Seventh Plague (1823), Fall of the Rebel Angels (c1823), Expulsion of Adam & Eve from Paradise (c1823-7) & Pandemonium (c1823-7). Martin was outdoing Hollywood before Hollywood was even invented!
It’s fascinating to see a Martin blockbuster applied to the Coronation. It’s likely his royal friends were delighted but to modern eyes the doll-like figures seem strangely butterfly-like. The Deluge (1834), Manfred & Alpine Watch (1837) & The Coronation of Queen Victoria (1839)
As the years progressed Martin’s ability for the sublime appeared to increase. His skies pound the canvases with fury! Fallen Angels in Hell (1841), Assuaging of the Waters (c1834-40), Destruction of Tyre (1840), Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still (1840) & Solitude (1843)
The Last Man (1849) is a fascinating picture. He meant it as a desolate piece tied up with spiritual longing. To realise that this was painted in a city & at a time which had allowed over 1 million Irish to starve to death is chilling.
A bizarre side note was his brother setting fire to York Minister. The arsonist was declared guilty but insane. Martin, himself, would turn to other areas including schemes for London drains. The Destruction of Sodom & Gomorrah (1852 & nd) & Twilight in the Woodlands (1850)
The City of God & the Waters of Life (c1850-1) is one of his most serene images & all the more memorable for that. It could be construed as the soul finding safe harbour after perilous journey.
In the final years of his life he created a trio of astonishing works, The Last Judgement (1853), The Great Day of his Wrath (1851-3) & The Plains of Heaven (1851-3). These are now in the Tate but rarely on display
He died on the Isle of Man, aged 64. The Isle of Man (?1850s). His popularity in life fell upon his death & it wasn’t until the final decades of the 20th C he was revisited. Even today critics are curiously uncomfortable with this unique artist.
If you’re interested in contemporary art I courier deliver my work worldwide from Ireland - DM for details.
Martin did not work in isolation & an Irish contemporary of his Francis Danby was also a Romantic - but perhaps with both feet on the ground & not as prone to melodrama:
The most famous Romantic was Friedrich - take a look at the German version of finding God in the sublime:
A more subtle form of English Romanticism is presented by Samuel Palmer - his was a more placid spirituality:
