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 :. | The Last Man | The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, | The Plains of Heaven | The Assuaging of the Waters | The Seventh Plague |
Related Artists:
majestas domini
Christ in Majesty, or Christ in Glory, in Latin Majestas Domini, is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whose membership changes over time and according to the context. The image develops from Early Christian art, which directly borrowed the formulae of depictions of the enthroned Roman Emperor. In the Byzantine world, the image developed slightly differently into the half-length Christ Pantocrator, "Christ, Ruler of All", a usually unaccompanied figure, and the Deesis, where a full-length enthroned Christ is entreated by Mary and St. John the Baptist, and often other figures. In the West, the evolving composition remains very consistent within each period until the Renaissance, and then remains important until the end of the Baroque, in which the image is ordinarily transported to the sky.
Krzysztof Lubieniecki
(1659-1729) was a Polish Baroque painter and engraver active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. Krzysztof was born in Szczecin. He and his brother Teodor Lubieniecki hailed from an Arian family. They learned to paint from Juriaan Stur in Hamburg. In 1667 they travelled to Amsterdam, where Krzysztof apprenticed with Adriaen Backer, and Teodor with Gerard de Lairesse. In 1682, Teodor moved to Hannover before eventually moving to Poland in 1706, where he died. Krzysztof remained in Amsterdam, where he painted portraits and genre pieces. He also collaborated on prints for Jacobus Houbraken, Daniel Willink, and Johannes Brandt (son of Gerard Brandt). He died in Amsterdam.
ludwig van beethoven
Born: December 1770 Birthplace: Bonn, Germany Died: 26 March 1827 (cirrhosis of the liver, plus dropsy) Best Known As: The composer of Beethoven's Fifth