Fall of Nineveh, from Illustrations of the Bible
1835
Medium
Mezzotint in black on ivory wove paper
Dimensions
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.)
Classification
mezzotint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
118007
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
After gaining early fame with his impressive biblical paintings and earning recognition as a printmaker, John Martin returned to biblical themes later in life with Illustrations of the Bible. The mezzotint process, in which the entire plate is roughened and then burnished to create highlights, accentuated Martin’s breathtaking visions of the Bible. He changed his usual literal approach to illustration and took some liberties with the text in these portrayals. Unfortunately, due perhaps to its hi...
About the Artist
John Martin · 1789–1854
John Martin (1789–1854) was a British painter and mezzotint engraver whose apocalyptic biblical and historical paintings made him one of the most popular artists in early nineteenth-century Britain. Born in Haydon Bridge, Northumberland, he trained as a heraldic and coach painter before moving to London, where his monumental painting "Belshazzar's Feast" (1820) caused a sensation and established h...