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A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake
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Martin is best known for his grandiose, apocalyptic visions of approaching doom, drawn from the Bible or mythology. But these two landscapes, created as pendants, reveal a less known aspect of his work. Martin executed a number of small landscape studies in a distinctive stippled technique, allowing him to render extraordinary detail. The mood of these landscapes is subdued; classical figures recline and play music beside a tranquil lake. However, their anthropomorphic trees and the suggestion of the vastness of the surrounding landscape foreshadow what was to become Martin’s central theme: the smallness and helplessness of man against the infinite powers of the universe.
| Artist / Maker | John Martin |
|---|---|
| Date | 1820 |
| Culture / Origin | England, 19th century |
| Medium | brown wash with graphite |
| Dimensions | Sheet: 19.7 x 26.8 cm (7 3/4 x 10 9/16 in.) |
| Department | Drawings |
| Type | Drawing |
About the Artist
Born in Northumberland, John Martin began his career as a coach and ceramics painter before exhibiting oil paintings at the Royal Academy, London. His first critical success, Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion (1812, Saint Louis Art Museum), introduced his penchant for dramatic compositions with diminutive figures in vast and often threatening landscapes. Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gideon (1816, United Grand Lodge of England) and Belshazzar's Feast (1821, private collection) combined meticulous biblical and… Full biography →
Provenance & Source
Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.
Condition
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