Title
A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake, 1820. Creator: John Martin (British, 1789-1854).
Caption
A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake, 1820. Martin is best known for his grandiose, apocalyptic visions of approaching doom, drawn from the Bible or mythology. But these two landscapes, created as pendants, reveal a less known aspect of his work. Martin executed a number of small landscape studies in a distinctive stippled technique, allowing him to render extraordinary detail. The mood of these landscapes is subdued; classical figures recline and play music beside a tranquil lake. However, their anthropomorphic trees and the suggestion of the vastness of the surrounding landscape foreshadow what was to become Martin?s central theme: the smallness and helplessness of man against the infinite powers of the universe.
Credit line
Photo12/Heritage Images/Heritage Art
Reference
HRM19F68_020
Model release
NA
Property release
NA
License type
Rights managed
Available size
72,3Mb (8,0Mb) / 19,5in x 14,4in / 5839 x 4330 (300dpi)