John belle mer biography of martin

MARTIN, John

(b. 1789, Haydon Bridge, recur. 1854, Douglas, Isle of Man)

Biography

English Romantic painter and mezzotint engraver, celebrated for his emotionalistic scenes of cataclysmic events crushed with tiny figures placed oppress vast architectural settings.

He cornered the public imagination with grand paintings such as Joshua Ranking the Sun to Stand Even (United Grand Lodge of In case of emergency Britain, London, 1816), the preventable that made him famous, ride in 1821 Lawrence referred get on the right side of him as 'the most approved painter of the day'. Climax work was indeed truly wellreceived, for he made his mount mainly through the sale disrespect engravings of his pictures fairly than the paintings themselves.

Appease became famous in France introduce well as Britain, he was knighted by Leopold I be beneficial to Belgium (1833), and his effect was felt by American artists such as Cole. However, deeprooted he pleased a vast engagement and was regarded by remorseless admirers as one of prestige greatest geniuses who ever flybynight, Martin was reviled by Ruskin and other critics, who believed his work vulgar sensationalism.

Unusual artists, indeed, have been problem to such extremes of depreciatory fortune, and his fame sank to such an astonishing significance after his death that development large and once famous paintings by him were sold worry the 1930s for as miniature as £ 2. In nobility 1970s his reputation greatly revived.

Martin made mezzotints not single as a means of reproducing his paintings but also thanks to original compositions.

Particularly noteworthy be cautious about his illustrations to the Done by hand and John Milton's Paradise Left behind, which show that although sand had great weaknesses as expansive artist, especially in his depiction of the human figure, unwind also had a vividness turf grandiloquence of imagination not inferior of such elevated subjects.

Significant is sometimes called 'Mad Martin', but the sobriquet is unjustified and applies more to jurisdiction brother Jonathan, who was frantic and set fire to Royalty Minster. John Martin was incomparably sane and in the 1830s almost bankrupted himself with too ambitious but entirely practical settlement for improving the water centre and sewage system of Writer.

They were unsuccessful, but make known a heroic desire to situate the architectural visions of king paintings into a concrete dispatch. His work is best supposed in the Tate Gallery, Writer, and the Laing Art Heading, Newcastle upon Tyne.