Place of Origin
Great Britain, UK (probably, painted)
Date
ca. 1851 (painted)
Artist/maker
Martin, John, born 1789 - died 1854 (artist)
Materials and Techniques
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Height: 25.4 cm estimate, Width: 35.5 cm estimate, Height: 40 cm framed, Width: 50.2 cm framed
Object history note
Purchased, 1869
Descriptive line
Oil painting, 'Mountain Landscape with Rocks', John Martin, ca. 1851
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Catalogue of British Oil Paintings 1820-1860, Ronald Parkinson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1990, p. 187
The following is the full text of the entry
"MARTIN, John (1789-1854)
Born Haydon Bridge, Northumberland, 19 July 1789; according to the artist, 'by birth, my station could scarcely have been humbler' (quoted in Pendered p21). Apprenticed to Leonard Wilson, a coach painter in Newcastle; left after a year and took painting lessons from the Italian immigrant Boniface Musso (father of the miniature painter Charles Muss). Moved to London 1806. Exhibited 84 works at the RA between 1811 and 1852, 37 at the BI 1813-51, and 62 (including watercolours and prints) at the SBA 1824-48. Subjects mainly literary and biblical, but also landscapes. Won prizes at the BI 1817 and 1821. An opponent of the art establishment, especially the RA, he nevertheless became Historical Painter to Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold (receiving the Knighthood of the Order of Leopold) , and Member of the Academies of Brussels, Antwerp, and Rome. Among his other activities, his elaborate plans for London's sewage disposal were diverting in both senses of the word. Most famous for his vast scenes of (usually) biblical destruction, such as 'Belshazzar's Feast', culminating in the 'Last Judgment' triptych (now Tate Gallery), and for his mezzotint illustrations to Paradise Lost (1827) and the Bible (1833). Many of his works were engraved, often by himself. Both famous and notorious in his own day, he was and remains the epitome of the powerfully Sublime type of Romantic artist and personality, dealing with dramas of Nature in conflict with Man. Died Douglas, Isle of Man, 17 February 1854; his studio was sold by Christie's in May and 4-5 July 1854 (see Athenaeum report 27 May 1854, p657). His brothers Jonathan and William were equally if not more notorious, as pyromaniac and inventor respectively. Watercolours and many prints by Martin are also in the V&A collections.
LIT: 'Autobiographical Notes' Athenaeum 14 June 1834, p459; Gentleman's Magazine 1854, vol i, pp433-6 (obit); Athenaeum 25 February 1854, pp246-7 (obit); Art Journal 1854, p118 (obit), 1855, p195; L Martin 'Reminiscences of John Martin KL' Newcastle Weekly Chronicle January-April 1889;; M Pendered John Martin, Painter: His Life and Times 1923; R Todd 'The Imagination of John Martin' Tracks in the Snow: Studies in English Science and Art 1946; T Balston John Martin 1789-1854: His Life and Works 1947 (copy annotated by the author in the National Art Library, V&A); John Martin Whitechapel Art Gallery exhibition catalogue 1953; T Balston 'John Martin: New Discoveries' Burlington Magazine November XCVI, 1954, p350; J Seznec John Martin en France 1968; John Martin, Artist-Reformer-Engineer exhibition catalogue Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 1970; John Martin Hazlitt, Gooden & Fox exhibition catalogue 1975; W Feaver The Art of John Martin 1975
Mountain Landscape with Rocks
1423-1869 Neg HH3685
Canvas, 25.4 × 35.5 cm (l0 × 14 ins) Purchased 1869
Feaver dates the work to about 1851, and suggests it is one of the 'small oil pictures' referred to in the artist's autobiographical notes among the various means by which he supported himself and his family 'by pursuing almost every branch of my profession'. In handling, particularly in the distant mountains, it certainly relates to larger paintings such as 'The Bard' of 1817. The mountains, the bizarre formations of the foreground rocks, the cave and pool, and the two figures standing in isolation against the light, are elements that recur in Martin's work throughout his career. The pool and rocks in particular are features that may have inspired other Romantic artists such as Francis Danby: compare for example 'The Enchanted Island' exhibited in 1825.
LIT: Balston p279, no 104; Feaver p218 n1
REPR: The Queen 15 August 1814, p303
Ronald Parkinson"
Vikutoria & Arub?to Bijutsukan-z? : eikoku romanshugi kaigaten = The Romantic tradition in British painting, 1800-1950 : masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum / selected by Mark Evans [Japan : Brain Trust], 2002. 185 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 30 cm.
Exhibition History
The Romantic Tradition in British Painting 1800-1950: Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Prefectural Museum of Art, Hyogo, Kobe, Japan 28/01/2003-06/04/2003)
The Romantic Tradition in British Painting 1800-1950: Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Koriyama City Museum of Art 22/11/2002-27/12/2002)
The Romantic Tradition in British Painting 1800-1950: Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Matsuzakaya Museum, Nagoya, Japan 19/10/2002-11/11/2002)
The Romantic Tradition in British Painting 1800-1950: Masterpieces from the Victoria and Albert Museum (Chiba Prefectural Museum of Art, Japan 24/08/2002-06/10/2002)
Materials
Oil paint; Canvas
Techniques
Oil painting
Subjects depicted
Landscape; Romanticism; The sublime
Categories
Paintings
Collection code
PDP
