A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake

1820
(British, 1789–1854)
Sheet: 19.7 x 26.8 cm (7 3/4 x 10 9/16 in.)
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Description

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.
A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake

A Man Playing a Harp with other Figures beside a Lake

1820

John Martin

(British, 1789–1854)
England, 19th century

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