This painting depicts the destruction of two ancient Italian cities, Pompeii and Herculaneum. Both were wiped out when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE. Herculaneum is in the distance to the left, smothered with lava. Pompeii is laid out in more detail, closer to the foreground. Mount Vesuvius is shown in the early stages of the eruption, the glow of lava colouring the whole landscape a vivid red, while the sky appears to convulse with billowing ash clouds and lightning. A contemporary viewer remarked that Martin was less interested in showing the terror of his figures, than in ‘producing powerful contrasts by every reflection of light’.
Curator Notes
The 19th century painter John Martin (1789–1854) is often called the “father of modern cinema”. The way visitors flocked to see his epic paintings of apocalyptic destruction was akin to a contemporary experience of blockbuster entertainment - he can be considered a proponent of proto-cinema. Indeed, when Tate held a solo show of John Martin’s called Apocalypse in 2011 they displayed the paintings in a specially designed theatre space and with accompanying audio narrative to recreate the dramatic way that they were originally exhibited in the 1850s and 1860s.
Curator Martin Myrone describes in the video below:
“Martin’s paintings were shown dramatically by dowsed light, and they were shown not only in gallery spaces, but also in music halls and in theatres, and in civic spaces; places which wouldn’t normally see art. There were occasionally descriptive lectures, so there would be a mustachioed gentleman who would point out the details of the paintings and dramatise their content.”
John Martin has been called the painter of modern cinema, due to his epic and apocalyptic paintings. In this video via Tate's YouTube channel, curator Martin Myrone explores Martin's work.
Related works
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Collection
Not in ACMI's collection
Previously on display
13 November 2022
ACMI: Gallery 4
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
LN189675
Curatorial section
Light → Sublime Light
Measurements
1616 x 2530 mm
Object Types
Painting/Pictorial
Materials
Oil paint on canvas