John Martin
John Martin was an English Romantic artist who lived from 1789 to 1854. He was very successful in his lifetime and was a huge influence on the next generation of artists.
Martin was born to a poor family in Haydon Bridge in Northumberland, England. He was the fourth son in his family, and all of his brothers had interesting lives in their own right. One was an inventor, one a soldier who served in the Peninsular War and Waterloo, and one was a preacher who set the famous York Minster on fire. Needing to provide some sort of income, Martin was apprenticed early on as an artist. He served first as a heraldic painter and then as a decorative enamel painter. Both were practical applications of his art that would provide a steady income.
In 1806, Martin moved to London. He got married and taught drawing to students as a means to provide his family with money. In 1810, Martin submitted a watercolor painting to the Royal Academy of Art, but it was not selected. In 1811, he submitted an oil painting which was displayed. At this point, Martin switched from working primarily in watercolors to primarily in oil paints. The Royal Academy displayed his large-scale Biblical paintings which exposed him to art collectors and them to his work. At this point, sublime paintings were on the verge of becoming vogue and Martin’s work was on the forefront of that style.
Martin found great inspiration in the notable sublime author, John Milton. Despite personal setbacks, his work continued to mature. By 1816, Martin’s work was well-known and by 1818, he was financially successful. The German Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg hired Martin as his formal historical painter. Leopold went on to become the first King of Belgium after its independence, and the two remained friends for life. Interestingly, between 1827 and 1828, Martin worked as an engineer and architect. He helped to solve London’s sewage problem by creating the Thames embankment with a more central drainage system.
Martin enjoyed much success during his life, and his large-scale sublime paintings were well-respected, influencing young artists such as Thomas Cole (the father of the Hudson River School of Art), and the Brontë family. Between 1851 and 1853, Martin painted three large-scale paintings, each depicting scenes from the Book of Revelations: “The Last Judgement”, “The Great Day of his Wrath”, and “The Plains of Heaven”. They toured extensively across the world between 1853 and the late 1870s and are often considered his finest works. In 1853, John Martin suffered a stroke from which he never recovered. He died in 1854 at 64 years of age.
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