Plains of Heaven Mezzotint by John Martin

“Plains of Heaven”

Mezzotint c1853 by John Martin

John Martin was born in Northumberland in 1789, dying on the Isle of Man in 1854. He was a painter, watercolourist, draughtsman, engraver and illustrator of religious subjects and landscapes. He began his career as a painter of coach panels, then turned to painting on porcelain. In 1806, he moved to London and began exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1812. He was a Founder Member of the Society of British Artists.

His works include ‘Fall of Babylon(Joshua commanding the Sun to Stand Still Upon Gideon)’ ‘Belshazzar’s Feast’ ‘The Deluge’ and ‘The Last Judgement’. The success of mezzotints after many of his works, made him a household name. He made engravings after many of his own works. Records show that a number of the engravings were owned by the Brontë family and hung in the parsonage study, and were an influence on Charlotte’s early works. His tryptych of the Last Judgement:The Great Day of His Wrath of 1852, Plains of Heaven of 1853 and Last Judgement also of 1853, display apocalyptic imagery in a theatrically Romantic style.

Biblio: Bénézit: Dictionary of Artists; Dictionary of Victorian Painters.

Dimensions: 612 x 950