British 1789-1854 John Martin Gallery His first exhibited subject picture, Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion (now in the St. Louis Art Museum), was hung in the Ante-room of the Royal Academy in 1812, and sold for fifty guineas. It was followed by the Expulsion (1813), Paradise (1813), Clytie (1814), and Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still upon Gibeon (1816). In 1821 appeared his Belshazzar's Feast, which excited much favorable and hostile comment, and was awarded a prize of £200 at the British Institution, where the Joshua had previously carried off a premium of £100. Then came the Destruction of Herculaneum (1822), the Creation (1824), the Eve of the Deluge (1841), and a series of other Biblical and imaginative subjects. The Plains of Heaven is thought to reflect his memories of the Allendale of his youth. Martin's large paintings were inspired by "contemporary dioramas or panoramas, popular entertainments in which large painted cloths were displayed, and animated by the skilful use of artificial light. Martin has often been claimed as a forerunner of the epic cinema, and there is no doubt that the pioneer director D. W. Griffith was aware of his work." In turn, the diorama makers borrowed Martin's work, to the point of plagiarism. A 2000-square-foot version of Belshazzar's Feast was mounted at a facility called the British Diorama in 1833; Martin tried, but failed, to shut down the display with a court order. Another diorama of the same picture was staged in New York City in 1835. These dioramas were tremendous successes with their audiences, but wounded Martin's reputation in the serious art world.  Related Paintings of John Martin :. | Macbeth | Pandemonium (mk22) | Manfred and the Alpine Witch | The Last Judgement | Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion |
Related Artists:
Eduard Magnus
(January 7, 1799 - August 8, 1872) was a German painter. Magnus was born in Berlin, and studied simultaneously at the Berlin Academy of Art, Bauakademie, and University of Berlin. He later traveled to Paris and Italy, returning to Germany in 1829. He went to Italy again in 1831, and traveled through Paris and England before returning again in 1835. In 1837 he became a member of the Academy of Art, and in 1844 a professor. From 1850 to 1853 he traveled to France and Spain. He died in 1872 in Berlin. He was for a time the preeminent portrait painter in Berlin. Eduard Magnus was the elder brother of the physicist and chemist Heinrich Gustav Magnus.
Bafcop Alexis
Flemish , 1804-1895
William Robinson Leigh
(September 23, 1866 - March 11, 1955) is a noted American artist, who specialized in Western scenes. He was born at Maidstone Manor Farm, Berkeley County, West Virginia. He entered the Maryland Institute at age 14, then attended the Royal Academy in Munich. He returned to the United States and worked painting cycloramas and as a magazine illustrator. He married and fathered William Colston Leigh, Sr. (1901-1992). In 1906, Leigh traveled to the American West and maintained a studio in New York City. In 1933, he wrote and illustrated The Western Pony. He also traveled to Africa and published a book Frontiers of Enchantment (1938). Hs adventures were chronicled in a number of popular magazines including Life, the Saturday Evening Post, and Colliers.He is known for painting the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Forest, but his primary interest were the Hopi and Navajo Indians