- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Tate Publishing (2 Sep 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1854378899
- ISBN-13: 978-1854378897
- Product Dimensions: 26.7 x 22.9 x 2.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 267,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
John Martin (1789-1854) is one of the most extraordinary figures in British art. His large-scale, dramatic paintings, encompassing catastrophe, war, apocalypse and nature on an epic scale, were the disaster movies of their day, connecting with a wider and more diverse audience than had ever previously been engaged by fine art. His influence has extended to Hollywood film directors and science-fiction authors and still reverberates among artists today. Martin was a popular artist in the true sense, combining the roles of showman and entrepreneur with that of visionary painter, but his very popularity has led to him being overlooked in many conventional histories of art. His early exploitation of the possibilities offered by printed reproduction caused alarm among high-minded critics and artists (notably John Constable and William Hazlitt) who saw his art as the debasement of the grand tradition. The painter's humble origins, his initial training as a painter in a coach-works in Newcastle and later employment decorating china in London were additional factors in his critical reception. His interest in science and engineering, including his proposals for drainage systems and rail-links for London, further confused the critic's idea of the proper role of the artist. In many ways, Martin's art and life-story epitomise the reshaping of British society and identity played out in the nineteenth century. Accompanying a major exhibition at Tate Britain, this is the first comprehensive reassessment of Martin's career for many years. It questions Martin's place in art history and challenges our own ideas of 'good' and 'bad' taste and 'high' and 'low' art.
About the Author
Martin Myrone is Curator (18th & 19th Century British Art) at Tate Britain and is the author of The Blake Book and Henry Fuseli. Contributors: Anna Austen, David Bindman, Michael Campbell, Lars Kokkonen and Julie Milne.
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4 reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Jawdropping work!!!
25 Sep 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is one of two long overdue books on painter John Martin. Though his work was done in the 1800's his influences span to modern day. He was the master of the Biblical apocalypse painting. The works are amazing and awesome in their granduer, and for the first time I can remember seeing in any book, the color reproductions contained in this book are stunning. For the artist and painter such as myself, this is an amazing learning experience to see paint application. I can't recommend this book enough, save to say I only wish it was a hardback as well. Martin's work has influenced filmmakers and most notably animator Ray Harryhausen over his filmmaking years. This book was worth the wait.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Portrait Of A Visionary Genius
17 Oct 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
John Martin's art was popular entertainment, as much or more than it was a refined product catering to the art establishment of his time. The vast canvases, as large as 10 by 13 feet, were impossible vistas, crammed with figures, metaphysical forces and architectural details that made them spectacles appreciated by thousands of viewers. The visionary quality of his work influenced film makers like Cecil de Mille in the 20th century, and it still has an incredible power and beauty in this age of computer animation and 3-D movies.
This book, John Martin: Apocalypse, is one of two published on the occasion of a major retrospective of his work at the Tate Museum. The other related to this exhibit I have not seen and can not comment upon. For those of us who love his work, and have had to rely on obscure books from the 1970s, it is a welcome examination and display of his work. The previous books had a very limited number of color plates, and those of his major paintings that were familiar, were often dark, eliminating much of the detail in the shadow areas. Indeed, paintings this large and detailed are difficult to reproduce. I think this one does an excellent job in bringing us a brighter, lighter view of these works, revealing more colors and intricacy. Are they more accurate? I can't say for most, but one of the paintings I did have the privilege to see in person, "The Eve Of The Deluge", looks very good here. Comparing various reproductions of "The Plains Of Heaven", a favorite work of many, we can now see considerably more detail and color variation in the forests in the fore and middle ground, lost in the earlier printings. Some qualities may suffer with this approach, for example in the very light areas of his paintings, as in an overexposed photograph, but I think it works especially well in this example and overall.
Also well served are his mezzotints, which brought his images to a wide audience. Usually monochrome works like this are printed in black and white, which make it difficult to see the subtle tonal qualities and amazing detail in prints like these. By printing them in full color, it gives us more of the mood and atmosphere he strived with great effort to obtain. My criticism of this book, is that many are formated too small to really appreciate, in terms of detail. Still better though, than most I have seen.
It is a wonderful book and study of a singular artist, who was a prodigious worker as well as part P.T. Barnum and part Steven Spielberg. While other artists had attempted themes of the sublime, in his unique way he depicted scenes of immense destruction and tranquil infinities with more grandeur and conviction. He then brought these visions, previously only imagined, to the masses of 19th century England. To anyone who can, I recommend trying to see these works all together at the Tate for maximum effect. For the rest of us, this book is a long overdue showcase of this beloved artist.
This book, John Martin: Apocalypse, is one of two published on the occasion of a major retrospective of his work at the Tate Museum. The other related to this exhibit I have not seen and can not comment upon. For those of us who love his work, and have had to rely on obscure books from the 1970s, it is a welcome examination and display of his work. The previous books had a very limited number of color plates, and those of his major paintings that were familiar, were often dark, eliminating much of the detail in the shadow areas. Indeed, paintings this large and detailed are difficult to reproduce. I think this one does an excellent job in bringing us a brighter, lighter view of these works, revealing more colors and intricacy. Are they more accurate? I can't say for most, but one of the paintings I did have the privilege to see in person, "The Eve Of The Deluge", looks very good here. Comparing various reproductions of "The Plains Of Heaven", a favorite work of many, we can now see considerably more detail and color variation in the forests in the fore and middle ground, lost in the earlier printings. Some qualities may suffer with this approach, for example in the very light areas of his paintings, as in an overexposed photograph, but I think it works especially well in this example and overall.
Also well served are his mezzotints, which brought his images to a wide audience. Usually monochrome works like this are printed in black and white, which make it difficult to see the subtle tonal qualities and amazing detail in prints like these. By printing them in full color, it gives us more of the mood and atmosphere he strived with great effort to obtain. My criticism of this book, is that many are formated too small to really appreciate, in terms of detail. Still better though, than most I have seen.
It is a wonderful book and study of a singular artist, who was a prodigious worker as well as part P.T. Barnum and part Steven Spielberg. While other artists had attempted themes of the sublime, in his unique way he depicted scenes of immense destruction and tranquil infinities with more grandeur and conviction. He then brought these visions, previously only imagined, to the masses of 19th century England. To anyone who can, I recommend trying to see these works all together at the Tate for maximum effect. For the rest of us, this book is a long overdue showcase of this beloved artist.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Long overdue and highly desirable !
21 Oct 2011
Format:Paperback
This is great news to hear that John Martin is finally given a serious exhibition survey at Tate Britain. I sure wish I could afford to fly to London for a few days and pop in for a visit. I am getting this book as a consolation price.
There are some beautiful original steel engravings by John Martin and J.W. M. Turner in the 1857 First American Edition of The Poetical Works of John Milton edited by Sir Samuel Egerton Brydges.
There are some beautiful original steel engravings by John Martin and J.W. M. Turner in the 1857 First American Edition of The Poetical Works of John Milton edited by Sir Samuel Egerton Brydges.
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