| Method | Steel engraving |
| Artist | Henry Le Keux after John Martin |
| Published | Pub. by R.Ackermann. London, 1829. |
| Dimensions | Image 66 x 101 mm, Sheet 106 x 159 mm |
| Notes |
An unusual gold printing on card of the image published in Forget-Me-Not, 1829. The Forget-Me-Not was an illustrated annual published by Rudolph Ackermann. This was the first literary annual in English and it was edited by Frederic Shoberl from its launch in 1822, until its denoument in 1847. The annual contained twelve engravings to commemorate each month. It also displayed a historical review of the previous year, the recent census, a family tree for the monarchy of Britain and a list of sovereign families and ambassadors for other kingdoms. Martin portrays an Apocalyptic view of Rome with crowds surrounding the chasm opened in the Forum into which the legendary Roman leaps on the back of a white horse. Henry Le Keux (1787-1868) was a British printmaker and engraver. He was born in Bocking, Essex, but was based in London for most of his working life. He was the brother of John Le Keux who was the engraver of the Memorials of Oxford. Henry also worked on topographical books such as John Britton's Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain. John Martin (1789-1854) was an English painter, illustrator and mezzotint engraver. He achieved huge popular acclaim with his historical landscape paintings which featured melodramatic scenes of apocalyptic events taken from the Bible and other mythological sources. Influenced by the work of J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851) as well as Theodore Gericault (1791–1824), Eugene Delacroix (1798–1863) and Paul Delaroche (1797–1856), his paintings are characterised by dramatic lighting and vast architectural settings. Most of his pictures were reproduced in the form of engravings, and book engravings, from which he derived his fortune. Despite his popularity, Martin's work was spurned by the critics, notably John Ruskin, and he was not elected to the Royal Academy. His fame declined rapidly after his death, although three of his best known works of religious art toured Britain and America in the 1870s: The Great Day of his Wrath (1853, Tate, London), The Last Judgment (1853, Tate) and The Plains of Heaven (1851-3, Tate). A great contributor to English landscape painting, Martin was a key influence on Thomas Cole (1801-48), one of the founding members of the Hudson River School. Condition: Surface abrasion in bottom margin, not affecting image. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £65.00 |
| Stock ID | 36582 |