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Edinburgh, York, Hull, Leeds, Oxford, Birmingham, Liverpool, Huddersfield, Sheffield, Leicester, Bristol and
Chester. There was initially some suggestion that the paintings were unfinished, but they were signed by Martin and he had consented to the tour, although Maclean had considerable rights over them under his agreement with Martin. The painting were exhibited in London in May 1855, at the
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decades. It seems likely that they were bequeathed to a cousin, Maria
Thompson, who had married the son of the Thomas Wilson, his host during his regular visits to the Isle of Man and who nursed him in his final illness. There was also a family connection - the Thomas Wilson was married to the sister of Martin's wife.
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The paintings were Martin's last major works before his death in 1854. They were exhibited to the public from the time of his death until the 1870s to advertise the sale of prints from engravings of the works, being displayed in galleries and exhibition halls all over the UK, in New York in 1856–57
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The Book of
Revelation describes a scene that is painted by Martin: "... and, lo, there was a great earthquake and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair and the moon became as blood. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together and every mountain and island were moved out of
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The ownership of the paintings after Martin's death remains unclear. They are not mentioned in his will, and the agreement with
Maclean (which gave Mclean two thirds of the profits from the sale of prints, and the right to use the paintings to market the prints) meant that they were on tour for
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According to chapter 4 of the Book of
Revelation, "a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne ... and round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment: and they had on their heads crowns of gold"; in
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to the right. It combines elements of both, with a crowd of "saved" people to the left, and of the "damned" to the right, with the heavenly host above. A drawing in pencil and ink, signed and dated 1845, shows that this work was planned before Martin decided to paint a triptych, and Martin had
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had been put on display on its own at
Maclean's gallery in London in June 1853). The paintings were accompanied by an explanatory pamphlet, a technique that Martin has used with his earlier Biblical pictures. The paintings went on an extensive tour of provincial cities, including Glasgow,
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chapter 8, "four of the seven angels who have sounded their trumpets after the opening of the seventh seal", and "an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe ... to the inhabitors of the earth."; in chapter 9, a star falls from heaven and creates a
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at God's right hand (that is, on the viewer's left) and the damned are gathered on the right. The virtuous men, women and children of the saved include portraits of around 40 famous people, many of which are painted on slips of paper that were pasted onto the canvas like a
195:, "the number of whom is as the sand of the sea" are mentioned in chapter 20, and paradise is referred to in chapter 21: "I saw a new heaven and a new earth ... the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband".
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Martin's style of didactic expository art was rarely praised by art critics but remained popular with the public until the 1860s. He fell out of style by the end of the 19th century, and his works were pigeonholed as
Victorian and religious by the early 20th century.
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in 1945. The triptych was reassembled at the Tate
Gallery in 1974 after Charlotte Frank donated the two other works following the death of her husband, Robert Frank. The paintings were the cornerstone of the first substantial exhibition of Martin's works at the
448:. Tours of Britain continued for more than a decade, with the last recorded exhibition in Hexham in 1872. They were exhibited in Australia in 1878–9, where they were shown in at a gallery in Melbourne and were included unofficially in the British Court at the
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of 3 May 1855 greatly admired them: 'the simple grandeur of the conception, the broad artistic arrangement, and the wonderfully inventive faculty in detail. ..will serve to place the fame of Martin in a much higher position than any of his former labours'.
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The painting was retained by Martin's family after his death until it was sold in 1935. It was acquired by Robert Frank in 1947, inherited by his wife
Charlotte Frank in 1953, and left to the Tate Gallery in memory of her husband in 1974.
183:, and describes the events that take places as each seal is broken. The breaking of the sixth seal triggers "the great day of his wrath" depicted in the second painting, followed by the last judgement after the seventh seal is broken.
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and the painting would be exhibited to publicise subscriptions for the print. Maclean was to retain two thirds of the net profits from the print, with Martin receiving one third. The painting was sent to the engraver,
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The works remained in the extended Wilson-Martin family - in the possession of the artist's son
Charles by about 1872 - and his son Thomas Carew Hunt Martin lent the paintings for an exhibition at
218:, awaiting their turn to appear before the throne. An engraved key was published in 1855 identifying the principal figures among the saved, including many artists, writers and scientists such as
202:, drawing elements from Martin's earlier historical and architectural paintings, with the Plains of Heaven behind. The light of God pervades the work, with Christ sitting in judgement on the
400:, by the end of 1851. Martin probably started work on the second and third paintings before the end of 1851, and a second agreement for their engraving was signed on 23 June 1852.
281:, and also lawyers and clergymen, including a bishop and a pope. A railway train with carriages labelled "London" and "Paris" tumbles into the bottomless pit. The forces of
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from around 1900 to the 1920s. By 1923, they had been taken out of their frames and were rolled up and stored in a warehouse. They were sold at auction in 1935 for £7 by
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498:. The triptych was reassembled at the Tate Gallery in 1974 after Charlotte Frank donated the two other works following the death of her husband, Robert Frank.
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started work on the painting by the end of 1849. Painted in oil on canvas, it measures 196.8 centimetres (77.5 in) by 325.7 centimetres (128.2 in).
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The oil on canvas work measures 196.5 centimetres (77.4 in) by 303.2 centimetres (119.4 in). It was bought by the Tate Gallery in 1945.
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The painting shows the time when "Heaven and Earth are passing away, and all things are made new." According to Mary L. Pendered's 1923 book
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in 1897. They were repeatedly put up for sale by auction but there were no buyers. By the 1890s, they were displayed "in a dingy room" at
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their places." The collapsing pile of rocks to the right of the painting are the buildings of an entire city falling into an abyss.
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and in Australia in 1878–79. It has been claimed that up to eight million people viewed the paintings during their extensive tours.
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was cut into four strips to decorate a screen. It was acquired by Robert Frank in 1947 and restored. Frank also acquired
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Martin signed an agreement with the publisher and printseller Thomas Maclean in June 1851, under which Martin's painting
62:, are generally considered to be among Martin's most important works, and have been described by some art critics as his
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in November 1853, and died on 17 February 1854. Seven days earlier, the pictures were first exhibited together in
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engravings were finally published in 1857, in New York and London. The paintings were back in London in 1860, at
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The oil on canvas work measures 198.8 centimetres (78.3 in) by 306.7 centimetres (120.7 in). Along with
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in the centre, accompanied by 24 seated elders. Four angels sound trumpets after the opening of the seventh seal.
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The work reflects the text of the Book of Revelation, which states that the Book of Judgement is sealed with
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It has been claimed that up to eight million people viewed the paintings during the extensive tours.
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The paintings visited Dublin in March 1856, and the United States in 1857. The Mottram
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Below, a yawning chasm divides mankind into two parts: the "saved" are assembled on
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show dramatising the manner of their exhibition in Victorian Britain.
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Critical opinion of Martin's work improved from the 1940s, and the
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In the background of the painting is the Celestial City,
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The landscape resembles the Italian views painted by
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607:The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum
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591:Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion
294:John Martin, Painter: His Life and Times
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658:Satan Presiding at the Infernal Council
490:from Kivnell in 1945. After the sale,
349:was intended to be hung to the left of
285:are being defeated, with the armies of
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623:The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
370:The Celestial City and River of Bliss
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366:Joshua spying out the Land of Canaan
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320:The second work in the triptych,
727:Collection of the Tate galleries
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450:Sydney International Exhibition
92:in 2011–12, with a theatrical
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289:also falling into the abyss.
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737:Musical instruments in art
639:The Great Day of His Wrath
527:The Great Day of His Wrath
488:The Great Day of his Wrath
389:The Great Day of His Wrath
322:The Great Day of His Wrath
316:The Great Day of His Wrath
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309:The Great Day of His Wrath
172:The Great Day of His Wrath
146:The Great Day of His Wrath
84:The Great Day of His Wrath
59:The Great Day of His Wrath
747:The Last Judgement in art
681:Jonathan Martin (brother)
712:Paintings by John Martin
676:William Martin (brother)
615:Manfred on the Jungfrau
16:Triptych by John Martin
32:by the British artist
537:The Plains of Heaven
496:The Plains of Heaven
347:The Plains of Heaven
340:The Plains of Heaven
167:The Plains of Heaven
135:The Plains of Heaven
47:The Plains of Heaven
486:. The Tate bought
422:Threadneedle Street
409:Newcastle upon Tyne
298:All Things Made New
631:The Last Judgement
599:Belshazzar's Feast
510:The Last Judgement
492:The Last Judgement
413:The Last Judgement
403:Martin suffered a
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351:The Last Judgement
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163:The Last Judgement
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42:Book of Revelation
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418:Hall of Commerce
279:whore of Babylon
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642:(1851–1853)
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576:John Martin
468:Earls Court
252:Shakespeare
220:Thomas More
181:seven seals
64:masterpiece
34:John Martin
696:Categories
650:Engravings
502:References
446:the Strand
277:, and the
256:Copernicus
236:Washington
211:Mount Zion
602:(c. 1821)
583:Paintings
539:1851-1853
529:1851-1853
458:Ownership
438:mezzotint
391:would be
383:Reception
248:Corneille
200:Jerusalem
442:Mabley's
393:engraved
275:Herodias
26:triptych
669:Related
240:Chaucer
232:Colbert
216:collage
81:bought
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618:(1837)
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594:(1812)
420:at 52
405:stroke
271:Salome
262:, and
260:Newton
228:Canute
224:Wesley
56:, and
283:Satan
244:Tasso
24:is a
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364:and
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