Etching and mezzotint by John Martin (1789-1854), entitled 'The Destroying Angel', an open letter proof. British School, 1836.

Etching and mezzotint entitled 'The Destroying Angel', depicting an angel spread horizontally across the sky with lines emanating from its hands whilst the swelling ground below is dotted with cowering groups of people and fleets of boats. There are pyramids in the distance on the right. Lettered with title, dedication, artist's and publisher's names and addresses, and the date.

Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, Art Fund, Shell International and the Friends of the V&A

This was one of Martin's last three major mezzotints, but they were a commercial failure. Balston states that 'Leggatt, Hayward and Leggatt's Descriptive Key' (1855) to Martin's Judgement Pictures refers to the artist as `Painter of Belshazzar's Feast, Fall of Nineveh, The Destroying Angel, etc.,' but found no other record of the picture: see Balston, p.277.
An earlier, almost identical, version of the subject had been engraved in mezzotint by Martin's son Alfred and published in 1835 (see VAM, E.530 1966). The mezzotint was Plate 33 in Martin's 'Illustrations of The Bible', 1835.
The Revd George Croly (1780-1860) was a prolific author. His work includes the historical descriptions to D. Roberts, 'The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia'.

SP.369