John Martin
Artist (1789–1854)
John Martin came from a poor family in the Tyne valley of Northumberland. Moving to London in 1806 and marrying two years later, he gave lessons in drawing and painting while studying perspective and architecture in his leisure. He gained fame with his Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still and went on to become the most popular painter of his day, known especially for his catastrophic scenes of cities and landscapes such as The Fall of Nineveh, The Deluge and The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. His reputation has suffered wide critical fluctuations but his work is still remembered and, by some, intensely admired. |
