WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›John Martin

John Martin

John Martin

British, 1789–1854

WA-00022992

PaintingRomanticism

Representation

None documented

0

Institutional Exhibitions

51

Works in Collection

80

Assets Indexed

2

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

WikidataQ937096

Field Verification (2 fields)

2 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Is PublishedManual· 100%✓
BiographyWikidata· 92%✓

Source Registry (1)

Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q937096
Tier 1 · Institutional40%

About

Why this artist matters now

John Martin was a British painter whose dramatically lit apocalyptic and biblical scenes established him as a master of catastrophic landscape during the 19th century. Working primarily in oils and watercolor, his compositions featured vast architectural ruins, towering cliffs, and crowds of figures rendered infinitesimal against sublime natural and supernatural forces. His mezzotint prints, widely circulated and collected, brought his visionary imagery to a popular audience. Martin's theatrical use of chiaroscuro and his ambitious scale influenced both Romantic painting and later developments in history painting and landscape.

Source: Wikidata · Trust score: 40% · Updated 9d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Romanticism

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago National Gallery of Art Tate

Canonical record

Artworks (51)

F. Shaw Brothers Tannery, Maine

1882 · Pen and black and red inks, graphite, watercolor, and white gouache on Bristol board

34 5/8 x 43 15/16 in. (87.9 x 111.6 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Study for ‘The Last Judgement’

Study for ‘The Last Judgement’

1853 · Graphite and ink on paper

image: 150 x 302 mm

The Last Judgement

The Last Judgement

1853 · Oil paint on canvas

support: 1968 x 3258 mm frame: 2400 x 3685 x 175 mm

The Plains of Heaven

The Plains of Heaven

1851 · Oil paint on canvas

support: 1988 x 3067 mm frame: 2415 x 3485 x 175 mm

The Great Day of His Wrath

The Great Day of His Wrath

1851 · Oil paint on canvas

support: 1965 x 3032 mm frame: 2400 x 3470 x 175 mm

Gleaners in the Wheat Field

Gleaners in the Wheat Field

1847 · watercolor with gouache on wove paper

overall: 17.2 x 25.6 cm (6 3/4 x 10 1/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art

View on the River Wye, Looking towards Chepstow

View on the River Wye, Looking towards Chepstow

1844 · watercolor, gouache, and touches of oil paint (?) over graphite with scraping out, heightened with varnish and/or gum arabic, on wove paper

Overall: 30.7 x 64 cm (12 1/16 x 25 3/16 in.) overall (mat size): 50.8 x 86.4 cm (20 x 34 in.)

National Gallery of Art

The Valley of the Tyne, My Native Country near Henshaw

The Valley of the Tyne, My Native Country near Henshaw

1842 · watercolor, gouache and gum arabic with graphite underdrawing, sanding, and scraping

Sheet: 26.6 x 67.5 cm (10 1/2 x 26 9/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium, from ‘Paradise Lost’, Book 1

The Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium, from ‘Paradise Lost’, Book 1

1841 · Oil paint on canvas

support: 622 x 765 mm frame: 847 x 962 x 81 mm

View on the South Downs

1840 · Watercolor with reductive techniques

Sheet: 9 1/2 in. × 13 in. (24.1 × 33 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Coronation of Queen Victoria

The Coronation of Queen Victoria

1839 · Oil paint on canvas

support: 2381 x 1854 mm

Plate from ‘Illustrations to the Bible’: Belshazzar’s Feast

Plate from ‘Illustrations to the Bible’: Belshazzar’s Feast

1835 · Mezzotint on paper

image: 190 x 290 mm

The Fall of Babylon, from Illustrations of the Bible

The Fall of Babylon, from Illustrations of the Bible

1835 · Mezzotint with etching in black on ivory wove paper

Image: 19 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.); Plate: 26.8 × 35.7 cm (10 9/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 32.9 × 41.6 cm (13 × 16 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Belshazzar's Feast, from Illustrations of the Bible

Belshazzar's Feast, from Illustrations of the Bible

1835 · Mezzotint with etching in black on ivory wove paper

Image: 19 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.); Plate: 26.8 × 35.7 cm (10 9/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 32.9 × 41.6 cm (13 × 16 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still, from Illustrations of the Bible

Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still, from Illustrations of the Bible

1835 · Mezzotint in black on ivory wove paper

Image: 19 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.); Plate: 26.8 × 35.7 cm (10 9/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 32.9 × 41.6 cm (13 × 16 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Psalm CXXXVII, from Illustrations of the Bible

Psalm CXXXVII, from Illustrations of the Bible

1835 · Mezzotint in black on ivory wove paper

Image: 19 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.); Plate: 26.8 × 35.7 cm (10 9/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 32.9 × 41.6 cm (13 × 16 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

David Spareth Saul at Hachilah, from Illustrations of the Bible

David Spareth Saul at Hachilah, from Illustrations of the Bible

1835 · Mezzotint in black on ivory wove paper

Image: 19 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.); Plate: 26.8 × 35.7 cm (10 9/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 32.9 × 41.6 cm (13 × 16 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Plate from ‘Illustrations to the Bible’: Moses Breaketh the Tables

Plate from ‘Illustrations to the Bible’: Moses Breaketh the Tables

1833 · Mezzotint on paper

image: 188 x 290 mm

Plate from ‘Illustrations to the Bible’: The Destruction of the Pharoah’s Host

Plate from ‘Illustrations to the Bible’: The Destruction of the Pharoah’s Host

1833 · Mezzotint on paper

image: 188 x 282 mm

Moses and the Burning Bush, from Illustrations of the Bible

Moses and the Burning Bush, from Illustrations of the Bible

1833 · Mezzotint in black on ivory wove paper

Image: 19 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.); Plate: 26.8 × 35.7 cm (10 9/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 32.9 × 41.6 cm (13 × 16 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Destroying Angel

The Destroying Angel

1833 · Brush and brown and black watercolor, with touches of scratching, on cream wove paper

8.5 × 13.6 cm (3 3/8 × 5 3/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Daughter of Pharoah Finding the Infant Moses, from Illustrations of the Bible

The Daughter of Pharoah Finding the Infant Moses, from Illustrations of the Bible

1833 · Mezzotint in black on ivory wove paper

Image: 19 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.); Plate: 26.8 × 35.7 cm (10 9/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 32.9 × 41.6 cm (13 × 16 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Seventh Plague, from Illustrations of the Bible

Seventh Plague, from Illustrations of the Bible

1833 · Mezzotint in black on ivory wove paper

Image: 19 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.); Plate: 26.8 × 35.7 cm (10 9/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 32.9 × 41.6 cm (13 × 16 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Moses Breaketh The Tables, from Illustrations of the Bible

Moses Breaketh The Tables, from Illustrations of the Bible

1833 · Mezzotint in black on ivory wove paper

Image: 19 × 29 cm (7 1/2 × 11 7/16 in.); Plate: 26.8 × 35.7 cm (10 9/16 × 14 1/16 in.); Sheet: 32.9 × 41.6 cm (13 × 16 7/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 51 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

51 published of 51 catalogued · 47 with image

Art Institute Chicago
24 published24 img
Tate
13 published13 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
5 published5 img
Nga
5 published5 img
The Met
4 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 10)

10 entries · 1 sources

A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake
1820 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Plains of Heaven
1851 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Plate from ‘Illustrations to the Bible’: Moses Breaketh the Tables
1833 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Garden of Eden
1821 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Study for ‘The Last Judgement’
1853 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Last Judgement
1853 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Coronation of Queen Victoria
1839 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Figures Seated by a Lake in a Wooded Landscape
1820 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Plate from ‘Illustrations to the Bible’: The Covenant
1832 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Plate from ‘Illustrations to the Bible’: The Destruction of the Pharoah’s Host
1833 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake (1820)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Figures Seated by a Lake in a Wooded Landscape (1820)

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Valley of the Tyne, My Native Country near Henshaw (1842)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Ruins of an Ancient City (c. 1810–20)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Belshazzar's Feast, from Illustrations of the Bible (1835)

Art Institute of Chicago

Moses and the Burning Bush, from Illustrations of the Bible (1833)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, from Illustrations of the Bible (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

6

Movements1

Collections5

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago National Gallery of Art Tate

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

National Gallery of Art

In collection

Tate

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

No exhibitions or timeline entries yet